Wanda Elizabeth McGuire

Graveside Services for Wanda Elizabeth McGuire, 90, of College Station, are scheduled for 2 P.M. Thursday, December 1, 2011, at College Station Cemetery with Mr. Frank Eckles officiating. Mrs. McGuire passed away November 24, 2011 at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan.

Wanda was born as Wanda Elizabeth Coffelt on January 29, 1921 in Waco, Texas to Cecil & Myrtle Coffelt. She was a graduate of Abilene High School; Draughon’s Business College in Abilene; and Four-C Business School in Waco. Wanda’s mother had yearned to dance, but her religion prevented it, so she enrolled Wanda into dance classes at age 5, the earliest age the instructor allowed. Being athletic, Wanda loved being the tomboy in her teens and was quite the track star in high school.

Wanda became an accomplished dancer and taught a variety of dance for 7 years in several cities in Texas, to include the San Antonio Parks & Recreation Department. Her resume lists jobs as a Secretary for Eubank Food Brokerage in Waco; Claims Clerk for Iowa Mutual Auto Insurance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Claims Clerk for Washington National Life Insurance in Evanston, Illinois; and Receptionist for Beverly Photographic Studios in San Antonio.

During WWII, Wanda was a Service Records Clerk at San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center and taught ballroom dancing to servicemen at the Army-Y USO. She was a member of a special USO Troupe sponsored by the Red Cross and Interstate Theaters that entertained at Army and Air Force Base hospitals. In 1943, Wanda was a fixture at the USO and popular with the servicemen who enjoyed dancing with her. One particular suitor, who sported two left feet, was Army serviceman, Bill McGuire. He took a shine to Wanda, and Wanda must have taken one to him, because in October of 1943, they wed. She loved Bill’s poetry, lavish letters, sense of humor, and how his mind worked. They became birds of a feather!

Wanda was a wordsmith who didn’t mince words, letting you know what was on her mind, whether in person or in a letter so often printed in the Bryan Eagle. She was a fierce fighter who survived being pregnant in 1951 with son, Bill, while she battled polio; she beat double pneumonia in 1992 after 6 weeks in ICU; and she was a breast cancer survivor. Wanda enjoyed knitting and crocheting gorgeous sweaters and afghans along with a menagerie of storybook characters for friends, family, and for sale. Some of Wanda’s hobbies included working crossword puzzles in pencil; playing scrabble; being an avid reader; and before the births of Melissa and Bill, playing bridge with friends. Though the bout with polio left Wanda with health challenges, she was game when her husband, Bill, decided the family vacations would consist of camping all over Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana, often meeting up, in camp grounds, with Bill’s brother, David McGuire and his wife, Ruth, and their daughters, Pam, Jenny, and Kellie. Wanda endured these uncomfortable treks living in a tent for weeks on end, but did so because her man loved the mountains, along with fishing those lakes and streams. Meeting up with the Colorado McGuires afforded at least one shower and laundry stopover in Denver. With Melissa married and out of the house, and son, Bill off in the Army, Wanda joined husband, Bill, on an epic journey from the East Coast of Canada to the West Coast of Canada and back. The trip stretched three months, and though the Chevy van Bill had outfitted efficiently for camping was pretty slick, it was not the Hyatt. Nevertheless, Wanda and Bill traveled to Arizona several times to continue their camping tradition with Melissa and her family.

Wanda moved to College Station in June 1962 as Bill began his doctorate program at A&M. She was a Past President of the A&M Petroleum Engineering Wives’ Club; Past President of the Campus Study Club during the group’s 50th Anniversary; and a member of St. Francis Episcopal Church. She is preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, William J. McGuire, Jr. (Bill), her parents, Cecil & Myrtle Coffelt, and grand-daughter, Shannon McGuire.

She is survived by: daughter & son-in-law, Melissa & Steve Usrey of Huachuca City, AZ, and grand-daughters Deva Usrey of Tucson, AZ & Tara Usrey, Los Angeles, CA.; son & daughter-in-law, Bill & Jeannie McGuire and grandson, Sean McGuire of Bryan & C.S.; sister-in-Law, Ruth McGuire, Boulder, CO, and nieces Pam McGuire of Aurora, CO, Jeanine Rothe of Littleton, CO, & Kellie Brookhouse of Denver, CO; brother-in-law & wife, John Hugh & Dorothy McGuire of Lander, WY; special cousins, Barbara Fisher of Powell, WY and Dorothy Faye McBride of Bowling Green, KY; and nieces and nephews galore!

Memorials to Project Unity of Bryan, TX or Hospice of Brazos County, TX, or the charity of your choice.