Robert Graham McGuire, of Damariscotta, died on May 13 at his home. He was 93, and nearly indestructible. Born in Pelham Manor, N.Y., he was the son of Frances (Smith) McGuire and Clarence V. McGuire, and big brother to two sisters, Phoebe and Frances. Bob was valedictorian (class of ’36) at Grosse Pointe High School in Grosse Pointe, Mich. After high school, he and his future wife Nancy attended the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts for two years. He next studied at Black Mountain College in Asheville, N.C., an experimental, utopian arts school, owned and operated by the faculty (including members of the Bauhaus School). Bob’s educational journey then took him to Columbia University in New York City, where he supported himself with a variety of jobs: clerking in bookstores, acting as an assistant to an eccentric millionaire, and working as a docent at the 1939-40 World’s Fair. He earned a Master’s Degree in English from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Bob taught English and Drama at Highland Park Junior College in Detroit, at Oldfields School in Glencoe, Md., and retired as a professor from University of Maine, Augusta after teaching there for 15 years. Bob’s teaching career allowed him to spend summers pursuing his passion for collecting antiques. For many years he owned Red Door Antiques in Romeo, Mich.; after the family moved to Maine year round in 1967, he opened the Pocket Watch Antiques Shop. He and Nancy were ardent travelers, and loved meeting new people. They were very active members of Round Top Center for the Arts.
Bob worked tirelessly to perfect Nature’s flaws. His flower gardens were fantastic works of art. His obsession with rare and beautiful flora led him to the admittedly dubious practice of smuggling cuttings out of historic gardens and transplanting them into his own. He and Nancy were enthusiastic home renovators, who integrated old materials with new design elements in a series of houses.
He was predeceased by Nancy, his wife of 68 years.
He is survived by his daughters Phoebe and husband John Nichols and Susan and husband Bruce Beaudette; grandson, Sam Nichols and wife Laurie San Martin, and their daughters, Georgia and Annabel Nichols; step-grandchildren, Liz Bordman and Jack Nichols and their children, Max Bordman and Sarah Nichols.
Memorial for family and friends will be held in August.
Donations in memory of Robert McGuire may be made to Skidompha Library in recognition of his lifelong interest in books and reading.
Arrangements are under the care of Smeltzer Family Cremation & Funeral Service, Waldoboro.
