STONINGTON and BANGOR – Mary A. McGuire, 104, died Jan. 15, 2011, surrounded by her family after a brief illness. She was born Aug. 4, 1906, in Oceanville, Stonington, the eldest daughter of Frank and Annie Elizabeth (Becot) McGuire. She graduated from Stonington High School in 1924 and the University of Maine in 1928. She taught Latin and English at Stonington High School, having as students her younger brother and sister, and later at Cony High School, Augusta, and in Northampton, Mass. She enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and proudly served as an officer in the WAVES in naval intelligence in Washington, D.C., during World War II. Her work included reporting on daily war events to the top naval command. She retired from the Naval Reserves with the rank of commander. She pursued graduate studies in English at Oxford University and Columbia University and completed a doctorate in English at Columbia University. She taught American literature at Columbia University, the University of Bridgeport and Chatham College, Pittsburgh, where she served as chair of the department of English. She retired from teaching in 1971. She returned each summer to her family home in Stonington, where she maintained lifelong interests in horticulture, literature and the community. Her intellectual curiosity, interest in people, love of learning, and rich memory of poetry and prose never left her. She was predeceased by her brothers, Francis S., Robert J. and Thomas G. McGuire; and by her sister, Veronica A. Mollek. She is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins, and their children and grandchildren. A Mass of Christian burial will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Stonington. Interment and a celebration of her life will occur in the spring. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Island Community Center, Inc., P.O. Box 617, Stonington, ME 04681; Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society, P.O. Box 652, Deer Isle, ME 04627 or Opera House Arts, P.O. Box 56, Stonington, ME 04681. A service of Bragdon-Kelley Funeral Home, Stonington. Condolences may be sent at www.bragdonkelley.com.
MARY A. MCGUIRE
