Obituary of Charles McGuire

Charles Edgar McGuire, Jr. went to be with his Lord and Savior on February 25, 2007. He was born September 17, 1914 in Plano, Texas to C.E. McGuire and Annie Morton McGuire. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Martha Jean Grimley, of Belfast, Ireland and his second wife, Viola Gafford; his parents; three brothers, Bill, Roy, and Frank; and a sister, Celeste. Charles moved to Idabel in 1919 and started school at Shultz Grade School under the direction of Lambert Barkman and Mrs Barkman. He graduated from Haworth High School in 1933. He served four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was stationed in Belfast, Ireland and Bremmerhaven, Germany. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Idabel for thirty years. He began this career as one of the first city mail carriers and later served as a rural carrier at Garvin. Charles was a longtime and faithful member of the First United Methodist church in Idabel. He enjoyed learning new things and taught himself to play the piano and the accordion. He learned to speak Spanish through study and first hand practice with Spanish speaking people. He was a ham radio operator at one time. He learned to use a computer in his later years and developed good technology skills. Charles enjoyed helping others. He sang in a group at various nursing homes and he worked with the Idabel Christmas Counsel delivering food baskets. He donated many hours to the activities of the American Legion. He was a loyal friend to many. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Wanda and John Blackburn of Ehrenburg, AZ; granddaughter and her husband, Sherry and Chuck Williford of Prescott, AZ; grandson and wife, John and Kim Blackburn of Ehrenburg, AZ; great-grandchildren, Christopher Miller of Prescott, AZ, John Blackburn III and Erica Blackburn of Ehrenburg, AZ; nephew, Charles McGuire and his wife Pam of San Antonio, TX; niece, Susan McGuire Livengood and her husband Gregg of Clyde, NC; nephew, Larry McGuire of Arlington, TX; first cousins, Ella Bess McGuire Shields of Howe, TX, Mills McGuire of St. Louis, IL, Kenneth McGuire of Wheeling, WV, Bobby McGuire Saba of Huntsville, AL, Lavern McGuire Hamilton of Pittsville, IL, and Marilyn Keagy of Pampa, TX; a special second cousin, Dennis Jones of Dallas, TX; and a special sister-in-law, Fran Cobb of Arlington, TX; special caregivers, Brenda Farley, Sylvia Walls, Lahoma Long Whithead, Rainbow Home Health, and Mays Hospice.