Patrick McGuire passed in the wee small hours of April 13, 2019, whilst on holiday in Scotland with his beloved wife and friends, in full embrace of the joy and passion with which he lived his life. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire.
He attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic Elementary School and St. Joseph High School, and later received his Bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan, as well as two Masters Degrees in English and an Ab.D in English from New York University. He taught 33 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, as well as at Carthage College, and several colleges on the East Coast. He was heralded, in 1994, as one of Parkside's best teachers, and in 2000, was awarded the Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching. He taught thousands of his students to love literature and many of those students remain friends to this day. These may be the facts of his life, but Patrick was always larger than the details. He would be pleased to know that he was considered a conversationalist, and it is a testament to his charm that hundreds of people can confirm that an evening with him over drink and song was one of life's great pleasures. He was witty, knowledgeable and passionate, with a greater ability for pinpoint recall of book, poem and movie quotes than anyone else we have ever met. He preferred Irish whiskey, but anything would do in a pinch - and he once spent ten years testing and perfecting the martini (gin, just a pass over of vermouth, slightly dirty, two olives). His loves, beside his family and friends, were reading, drawing, photography - and his passion, writing. He loved his garden (and composting!), woodworking, and cooking for those he loved. His favorite times were sitting on the porch late into the evening looking at the stars and enjoying the peace of the night air. He loved to talk, to share stories, and most of all, he loved to tell jokes.
Patrick is survived by his wife, Anna (Antaramian), sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus "Tip" McGuire, two daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne, and his 12 siblings, along with two cherished granddaughters.
There will be a wake and viewing held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus FuneralHome in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, May 5, 2019; all are invited. We ask you to bring your favorite joke, in his honor, to write down in a book we will keep and treasure. Family and friends are also invited for his funeral service, at Green Ridge Cemetery, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on May 6, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. He loved the inscription on Yeats' tombstone - "Cast a cold Eye / on Life, on Death / Horsemen, pass by!" - and he of all would appreciate the irony of how ill equipped that phrase is for this event. For there are none of us who can simply turn and pass by to continue life as it was before, having known and lost him. But we can celebrate all that he was to us and to so many.
Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home & Cremation Services
3720 39th Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53144
262-658-4101
www.piasecki-althaus.com
Published in the Kenosha News on Apr. 28, 2019
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered.
Stories. Stories in poems, novels and librettos; stories in martinis, drawings, conversations and class lectures. This was the body of work produced by Patrick McGuire. “He was a man who just was fascinated by everything,” said his wife, Anna McGuire. Patrick’s zest for life manifested itself in his dedication to every craft/hobby/interest he had, from writing novels to “the month he wrote poems about birds,” noted his daughter, Noonay Byrne.
For 30 years, Patrick was an instructor of English literature and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. As he taught the world’s great literature, he also wrote his own and encouraged his students to do the same. “He was a fearless innovator, super willing to cook up new ideas to help students learn,” said former student and longtime friend Jim Newcomb. “He was a truly funny person and gifted conversationalist, which is what ultimately made him a great teacher.” Amy Hanson, another former student, described Patrick’s personality as not unlike the large parties he threw on St. Patrick’s Day: “Full of life, welcoming to all, generous (sometimes to a fault), a little rambunctious, and everybody who came in contact was better because of (him).” As a conversationalist, he was unrivaled, said friends and family. “There was nothing in this world on which he couldn’t talk intelligently for at least 10 minutes,” said Skelly Warren, former Parkside colleague and close friend.
While traveling with his wife and friends in Scotland, Patrick died on April 13. Surviving him are his wife, Anna (Antaramian); sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus “Tip” McGuire, daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne; 12 siblings; and two granddaughters. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire. He attended local schools, received his bachelor’s degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan and two master’s degrees in English from New York University. Patrick then taught at area colleges.
He met Anna, a native Kenoshan, at Passaic County Community College, where he was teaching literature and she was teaching theater. “We started talking about Hamlet on the train, then kept talking about Hamlet over coffee,” Anna said. The two were married by a justice of the peace in 1980 and settled into a New York City apartment. Patrick then worked as freelance writer for the New York Times and Book Collectors magazine. After the birth of their fourth child, the McGuires needed more room than their New York apartment afforded, so they moved their family to Kenosha. Anna took a position at Bullen Middle School and later Northeastern University, and Patrick began teaching at Parkside. As he taught English literature and composition classes, he made an indelible impact on students and colleagues. “He was really a Renaissance man in terms of knowledge of all areas of English lit, from Shakespeare to James Joyce,” said Walt Graffin, a former English department colleague. He opened classes with jokes and was known as “the grand master of bad puns,” Jim said. Patrick is credited, too, with writing the lyrics to Parkside’s alma mater song. For the 1991-1992 academic year, Patrick received the Parkside Teaching Excellence Award and, in 1999, received the UW Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching.
At home, Patrick oversaw care of his kids before Anna returned from work. Making dinner for their five children usually involved “food experimentation,” said Anna. “He’d say, ‘Let’s see what’s in the fridge and see what we can make!’” Patrick also shared his love of literature with his children. “He would read us the classics or quote key passages from great works of literary history,” Seth said. As soon as he put the kids to bed, Patrick would head to his study to write poetry, short stories, novels and plays. He also liked blogging. Rather than off-the-cuff blogs, Patrick’s were researched and detailed accounts, Anna said. “He wrote and rewrote, searching for the exact word and perfect nuance.” One unpublished novel, “Franz Liszt and God” was three years in the making. His family recalls how Patrick immersed himself into the project by listening to all of Liszt’s music and taking piano lessons. “He had to understand everything about it,” Anna said.
Patrick’s other aptitudes included furniture building, martini making and drawing. With postcards for inspiration, Patrick created detailed pencil renderings of castles, monuments and bridges of the world. For Patrick, bridges represented “literary conversations,” said Seth. “They were a means of crossing over a chasm that might separate him from a person he didn’t know, or hadn’t seen, or just as a way to begin the conversation.” When space got cramped in their New York apartment, Patrick created a “Murphy crib” that hung on the wall; for their Kenosha home he crafted bookshelves and shelving and refinished old furniture.
After he retired in December 2018, Patrick dove deep into drawing, photography and “sitting out at 2 a.m. looking at the stars,” Anna said. Said his son, Seth, “He had an energy...an energy of the mind — an energy that pursued knowledge...and passion of the knowing.”
Published in the Kenosha News on June 3, 2019
He attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic Elementary School and St. Joseph High School, and later received his Bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan, as well as two Masters Degrees in English and an Ab.D in English from New York University. He taught 33 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, as well as at Carthage College, and several colleges on the East Coast. He was heralded, in 1994, as one of Parkside's best teachers, and in 2000, was awarded the Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching. He taught thousands of his students to love literature and many of those students remain friends to this day. These may be the facts of his life, but Patrick was always larger than the details. He would be pleased to know that he was considered a conversationalist, and it is a testament to his charm that hundreds of people can confirm that an evening with him over drink and song was one of life's great pleasures. He was witty, knowledgeable and passionate, with a greater ability for pinpoint recall of book, poem and movie quotes than anyone else we have ever met. He preferred Irish whiskey, but anything would do in a pinch - and he once spent ten years testing and perfecting the martini (gin, just a pass over of vermouth, slightly dirty, two olives). His loves, beside his family and friends, were reading, drawing, photography - and his passion, writing. He loved his garden (and composting!), woodworking, and cooking for those he loved. His favorite times were sitting on the porch late into the evening looking at the stars and enjoying the peace of the night air. He loved to talk, to share stories, and most of all, he loved to tell jokes.
Patrick is survived by his wife, Anna (Antaramian), sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus "Tip" McGuire, two daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne, and his 12 siblings, along with two cherished granddaughters.
There will be a wake and viewing held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus FuneralHome in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, May 5, 2019; all are invited. We ask you to bring your favorite joke, in his honor, to write down in a book we will keep and treasure. Family and friends are also invited for his funeral service, at Green Ridge Cemetery, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on May 6, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. He loved the inscription on Yeats' tombstone - "Cast a cold Eye / on Life, on Death / Horsemen, pass by!" - and he of all would appreciate the irony of how ill equipped that phrase is for this event. For there are none of us who can simply turn and pass by to continue life as it was before, having known and lost him. But we can celebrate all that he was to us and to so many.
Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home & Cremation Services
3720 39th Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53144
262-658-4101
www.piasecki-althaus.com
Published in the Kenosha News on Apr. 28, 2019
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered.
Stories. Stories in poems, novels and librettos; stories in martinis, drawings, conversations and class lectures. This was the body of work produced by Patrick McGuire. “He was a man who just was fascinated by everything,” said his wife, Anna McGuire. Patrick’s zest for life manifested itself in his dedication to every craft/hobby/interest he had, from writing novels to “the month he wrote poems about birds,” noted his daughter, Noonay Byrne.
For 30 years, Patrick was an instructor of English literature and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. As he taught the world’s great literature, he also wrote his own and encouraged his students to do the same. “He was a fearless innovator, super willing to cook up new ideas to help students learn,” said former student and longtime friend Jim Newcomb. “He was a truly funny person and gifted conversationalist, which is what ultimately made him a great teacher.” Amy Hanson, another former student, described Patrick’s personality as not unlike the large parties he threw on St. Patrick’s Day: “Full of life, welcoming to all, generous (sometimes to a fault), a little rambunctious, and everybody who came in contact was better because of (him).” As a conversationalist, he was unrivaled, said friends and family. “There was nothing in this world on which he couldn’t talk intelligently for at least 10 minutes,” said Skelly Warren, former Parkside colleague and close friend.
While traveling with his wife and friends in Scotland, Patrick died on April 13. Surviving him are his wife, Anna (Antaramian); sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus “Tip” McGuire, daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne; 12 siblings; and two granddaughters. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire. He attended local schools, received his bachelor’s degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan and two master’s degrees in English from New York University. Patrick then taught at area colleges.
He met Anna, a native Kenoshan, at Passaic County Community College, where he was teaching literature and she was teaching theater. “We started talking about Hamlet on the train, then kept talking about Hamlet over coffee,” Anna said. The two were married by a justice of the peace in 1980 and settled into a New York City apartment. Patrick then worked as freelance writer for the New York Times and Book Collectors magazine. After the birth of their fourth child, the McGuires needed more room than their New York apartment afforded, so they moved their family to Kenosha. Anna took a position at Bullen Middle School and later Northeastern University, and Patrick began teaching at Parkside. As he taught English literature and composition classes, he made an indelible impact on students and colleagues. “He was really a Renaissance man in terms of knowledge of all areas of English lit, from Shakespeare to James Joyce,” said Walt Graffin, a former English department colleague. He opened classes with jokes and was known as “the grand master of bad puns,” Jim said. Patrick is credited, too, with writing the lyrics to Parkside’s alma mater song. For the 1991-1992 academic year, Patrick received the Parkside Teaching Excellence Award and, in 1999, received the UW Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching.
At home, Patrick oversaw care of his kids before Anna returned from work. Making dinner for their five children usually involved “food experimentation,” said Anna. “He’d say, ‘Let’s see what’s in the fridge and see what we can make!’” Patrick also shared his love of literature with his children. “He would read us the classics or quote key passages from great works of literary history,” Seth said. As soon as he put the kids to bed, Patrick would head to his study to write poetry, short stories, novels and plays. He also liked blogging. Rather than off-the-cuff blogs, Patrick’s were researched and detailed accounts, Anna said. “He wrote and rewrote, searching for the exact word and perfect nuance.” One unpublished novel, “Franz Liszt and God” was three years in the making. His family recalls how Patrick immersed himself into the project by listening to all of Liszt’s music and taking piano lessons. “He had to understand everything about it,” Anna said.
Patrick’s other aptitudes included furniture building, martini making and drawing. With postcards for inspiration, Patrick created detailed pencil renderings of castles, monuments and bridges of the world. For Patrick, bridges represented “literary conversations,” said Seth. “They were a means of crossing over a chasm that might separate him from a person he didn’t know, or hadn’t seen, or just as a way to begin the conversation.” When space got cramped in their New York apartment, Patrick created a “Murphy crib” that hung on the wall; for their Kenosha home he crafted bookshelves and shelving and refinished old furniture.
After he retired in December 2018, Patrick dove deep into drawing, photography and “sitting out at 2 a.m. looking at the stars,” Anna said. Said his son, Seth, “He had an energy...an energy of the mind — an energy that pursued knowledge...and passion of the knowing.”
Published in the Kenosha News on June 3, 2019
Patrick McGuire passed in the wee small hours of April 13, 2019, whilst on holiday in Scotland with his beloved wife and friends, in full embrace of the joy and passion with which he lived his life. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire.
He attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic Elementary School and St. Joseph High School, and later received his Bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan, as well as two Masters Degrees in English and an Ab.D in English from New York University. He taught 33 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, as well as at Carthage College, and several colleges on the East Coast. He was heralded, in 1994, as one of Parkside's best teachers, and in 2000, was awarded the Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching. He taught thousands of his students to love literature and many of those students remain friends to this day. These may be the facts of his life, but Patrick was always larger than the details. He would be pleased to know that he was considered a conversationalist, and it is a testament to his charm that hundreds of people can confirm that an evening with him over drink and song was one of life's great pleasures. He was witty, knowledgeable and passionate, with a greater ability for pinpoint recall of book, poem and movie quotes than anyone else we have ever met. He preferred Irish whiskey, but anything would do in a pinch - and he once spent ten years testing and perfecting the martini (gin, just a pass over of vermouth, slightly dirty, two olives). His loves, beside his family and friends, were reading, drawing, photography - and his passion, writing. He loved his garden (and composting!), woodworking, and cooking for those he loved. His favorite times were sitting on the porch late into the evening looking at the stars and enjoying the peace of the night air. He loved to talk, to share stories, and most of all, he loved to tell jokes.
Patrick is survived by his wife, Anna (Antaramian), sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus "Tip" McGuire, two daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne, and his 12 siblings, along with two cherished granddaughters.
There will be a wake and viewing held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus FuneralHome in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, May 5, 2019; all are invited. We ask you to bring your favorite joke, in his honor, to write down in a book we will keep and treasure. Family and friends are also invited for his funeral service, at Green Ridge Cemetery, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on May 6, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. He loved the inscription on Yeats' tombstone - "Cast a cold Eye / on Life, on Death / Horsemen, pass by!" - and he of all would appreciate the irony of how ill equipped that phrase is for this event. For there are none of us who can simply turn and pass by to continue life as it was before, having known and lost him. But we can celebrate all that he was to us and to so many.
Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home & Cremation Services
3720 39th Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53144
262-658-4101
www.piasecki-althaus.com
Published in the Kenosha News on Apr. 28, 2019
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered.
Stories. Stories in poems, novels and librettos; stories in martinis, drawings, conversations and class lectures. This was the body of work produced by Patrick McGuire. “He was a man who just was fascinated by everything,” said his wife, Anna McGuire. Patrick’s zest for life manifested itself in his dedication to every craft/hobby/interest he had, from writing novels to “the month he wrote poems about birds,” noted his daughter, Noonay Byrne.
For 30 years, Patrick was an instructor of English literature and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. As he taught the world’s great literature, he also wrote his own and encouraged his students to do the same. “He was a fearless innovator, super willing to cook up new ideas to help students learn,” said former student and longtime friend Jim Newcomb. “He was a truly funny person and gifted conversationalist, which is what ultimately made him a great teacher.” Amy Hanson, another former student, described Patrick’s personality as not unlike the large parties he threw on St. Patrick’s Day: “Full of life, welcoming to all, generous (sometimes to a fault), a little rambunctious, and everybody who came in contact was better because of (him).” As a conversationalist, he was unrivaled, said friends and family. “There was nothing in this world on which he couldn’t talk intelligently for at least 10 minutes,” said Skelly Warren, former Parkside colleague and close friend.
While traveling with his wife and friends in Scotland, Patrick died on April 13. Surviving him are his wife, Anna (Antaramian); sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus “Tip” McGuire, daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne; 12 siblings; and two granddaughters. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire. He attended local schools, received his bachelor’s degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan and two master’s degrees in English from New York University. Patrick then taught at area colleges.
He met Anna, a native Kenoshan, at Passaic County Community College, where he was teaching literature and she was teaching theater. “We started talking about Hamlet on the train, then kept talking about Hamlet over coffee,” Anna said. The two were married by a justice of the peace in 1980 and settled into a New York City apartment. Patrick then worked as freelance writer for the New York Times and Book Collectors magazine. After the birth of their fourth child, the McGuires needed more room than their New York apartment afforded, so they moved their family to Kenosha. Anna took a position at Bullen Middle School and later Northeastern University, and Patrick began teaching at Parkside. As he taught English literature and composition classes, he made an indelible impact on students and colleagues. “He was really a Renaissance man in terms of knowledge of all areas of English lit, from Shakespeare to James Joyce,” said Walt Graffin, a former English department colleague. He opened classes with jokes and was known as “the grand master of bad puns,” Jim said. Patrick is credited, too, with writing the lyrics to Parkside’s alma mater song. For the 1991-1992 academic year, Patrick received the Parkside Teaching Excellence Award and, in 1999, received the UW Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching.
At home, Patrick oversaw care of his kids before Anna returned from work. Making dinner for their five children usually involved “food experimentation,” said Anna. “He’d say, ‘Let’s see what’s in the fridge and see what we can make!’” Patrick also shared his love of literature with his children. “He would read us the classics or quote key passages from great works of literary history,” Seth said. As soon as he put the kids to bed, Patrick would head to his study to write poetry, short stories, novels and plays. He also liked blogging. Rather than off-the-cuff blogs, Patrick’s were researched and detailed accounts, Anna said. “He wrote and rewrote, searching for the exact word and perfect nuance.” One unpublished novel, “Franz Liszt and God” was three years in the making. His family recalls how Patrick immersed himself into the project by listening to all of Liszt’s music and taking piano lessons. “He had to understand everything about it,” Anna said.
Patrick’s other aptitudes included furniture building, martini making and drawing. With postcards for inspiration, Patrick created detailed pencil renderings of castles, monuments and bridges of the world. For Patrick, bridges represented “literary conversations,” said Seth. “They were a means of crossing over a chasm that might separate him from a person he didn’t know, or hadn’t seen, or just as a way to begin the conversation.” When space got cramped in their New York apartment, Patrick created a “Murphy crib” that hung on the wall; for their Kenosha home he crafted bookshelves and shelving and refinished old furniture.
After he retired in December 2018, Patrick dove deep into drawing, photography and “sitting out at 2 a.m. looking at the stars,” Anna said. Said his son, Seth, “He had an energy...an energy of the mind — an energy that pursued knowledge...and passion of the knowing.”
Published in the Kenosha News on June 3, 2019
He attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic Elementary School and St. Joseph High School, and later received his Bachelor's degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan, as well as two Masters Degrees in English and an Ab.D in English from New York University. He taught 33 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, as well as at Carthage College, and several colleges on the East Coast. He was heralded, in 1994, as one of Parkside's best teachers, and in 2000, was awarded the Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching. He taught thousands of his students to love literature and many of those students remain friends to this day. These may be the facts of his life, but Patrick was always larger than the details. He would be pleased to know that he was considered a conversationalist, and it is a testament to his charm that hundreds of people can confirm that an evening with him over drink and song was one of life's great pleasures. He was witty, knowledgeable and passionate, with a greater ability for pinpoint recall of book, poem and movie quotes than anyone else we have ever met. He preferred Irish whiskey, but anything would do in a pinch - and he once spent ten years testing and perfecting the martini (gin, just a pass over of vermouth, slightly dirty, two olives). His loves, beside his family and friends, were reading, drawing, photography - and his passion, writing. He loved his garden (and composting!), woodworking, and cooking for those he loved. His favorite times were sitting on the porch late into the evening looking at the stars and enjoying the peace of the night air. He loved to talk, to share stories, and most of all, he loved to tell jokes.
Patrick is survived by his wife, Anna (Antaramian), sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus "Tip" McGuire, two daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne, and his 12 siblings, along with two cherished granddaughters.
There will be a wake and viewing held from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Piasecki-Althaus FuneralHome in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, May 5, 2019; all are invited. We ask you to bring your favorite joke, in his honor, to write down in a book we will keep and treasure. Family and friends are also invited for his funeral service, at Green Ridge Cemetery, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on May 6, 2019 at 11:30 a.m. He loved the inscription on Yeats' tombstone - "Cast a cold Eye / on Life, on Death / Horsemen, pass by!" - and he of all would appreciate the irony of how ill equipped that phrase is for this event. For there are none of us who can simply turn and pass by to continue life as it was before, having known and lost him. But we can celebrate all that he was to us and to so many.
Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home & Cremation Services
3720 39th Avenue
Kenosha, Wisconsin 53144
262-658-4101
www.piasecki-althaus.com
Published in the Kenosha News on Apr. 28, 2019
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered.
Stories. Stories in poems, novels and librettos; stories in martinis, drawings, conversations and class lectures. This was the body of work produced by Patrick McGuire. “He was a man who just was fascinated by everything,” said his wife, Anna McGuire. Patrick’s zest for life manifested itself in his dedication to every craft/hobby/interest he had, from writing novels to “the month he wrote poems about birds,” noted his daughter, Noonay Byrne.
For 30 years, Patrick was an instructor of English literature and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. As he taught the world’s great literature, he also wrote his own and encouraged his students to do the same. “He was a fearless innovator, super willing to cook up new ideas to help students learn,” said former student and longtime friend Jim Newcomb. “He was a truly funny person and gifted conversationalist, which is what ultimately made him a great teacher.” Amy Hanson, another former student, described Patrick’s personality as not unlike the large parties he threw on St. Patrick’s Day: “Full of life, welcoming to all, generous (sometimes to a fault), a little rambunctious, and everybody who came in contact was better because of (him).” As a conversationalist, he was unrivaled, said friends and family. “There was nothing in this world on which he couldn’t talk intelligently for at least 10 minutes,” said Skelly Warren, former Parkside colleague and close friend.
While traveling with his wife and friends in Scotland, Patrick died on April 13. Surviving him are his wife, Anna (Antaramian); sons, Hugh McGuire, Seth (Jenny) McGuire, Thaddeus “Tip” McGuire, daughters, Ankeen McGuire and Noonay (Kevin) Byrne; 12 siblings; and two granddaughters. Born Feb. 9, 1952, in Hoboken, N.J., Patrick was the 11th out of 13 children born to Hugh and Rose McGuire. He attended local schools, received his bachelor’s degree in English from Fordham University in Manhattan and two master’s degrees in English from New York University. Patrick then taught at area colleges.
He met Anna, a native Kenoshan, at Passaic County Community College, where he was teaching literature and she was teaching theater. “We started talking about Hamlet on the train, then kept talking about Hamlet over coffee,” Anna said. The two were married by a justice of the peace in 1980 and settled into a New York City apartment. Patrick then worked as freelance writer for the New York Times and Book Collectors magazine. After the birth of their fourth child, the McGuires needed more room than their New York apartment afforded, so they moved their family to Kenosha. Anna took a position at Bullen Middle School and later Northeastern University, and Patrick began teaching at Parkside. As he taught English literature and composition classes, he made an indelible impact on students and colleagues. “He was really a Renaissance man in terms of knowledge of all areas of English lit, from Shakespeare to James Joyce,” said Walt Graffin, a former English department colleague. He opened classes with jokes and was known as “the grand master of bad puns,” Jim said. Patrick is credited, too, with writing the lyrics to Parkside’s alma mater song. For the 1991-1992 academic year, Patrick received the Parkside Teaching Excellence Award and, in 1999, received the UW Regents Award for Lifetime Achievement of Excellence in Teaching.
At home, Patrick oversaw care of his kids before Anna returned from work. Making dinner for their five children usually involved “food experimentation,” said Anna. “He’d say, ‘Let’s see what’s in the fridge and see what we can make!’” Patrick also shared his love of literature with his children. “He would read us the classics or quote key passages from great works of literary history,” Seth said. As soon as he put the kids to bed, Patrick would head to his study to write poetry, short stories, novels and plays. He also liked blogging. Rather than off-the-cuff blogs, Patrick’s were researched and detailed accounts, Anna said. “He wrote and rewrote, searching for the exact word and perfect nuance.” One unpublished novel, “Franz Liszt and God” was three years in the making. His family recalls how Patrick immersed himself into the project by listening to all of Liszt’s music and taking piano lessons. “He had to understand everything about it,” Anna said.
Patrick’s other aptitudes included furniture building, martini making and drawing. With postcards for inspiration, Patrick created detailed pencil renderings of castles, monuments and bridges of the world. For Patrick, bridges represented “literary conversations,” said Seth. “They were a means of crossing over a chasm that might separate him from a person he didn’t know, or hadn’t seen, or just as a way to begin the conversation.” When space got cramped in their New York apartment, Patrick created a “Murphy crib” that hung on the wall; for their Kenosha home he crafted bookshelves and shelving and refinished old furniture.
After he retired in December 2018, Patrick dove deep into drawing, photography and “sitting out at 2 a.m. looking at the stars,” Anna said. Said his son, Seth, “He had an energy...an energy of the mind — an energy that pursued knowledge...and passion of the knowing.”
Published in the Kenosha News on June 3, 2019
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