Darrell Gene McGuire

On April 4, 2017 Darrell G. McGuire returned “home,” beating out the rest of us at reuniting with his grandson, Cobey Batrum, his parents, Richard and Audrey McGuire, and Grandparents Melvin and Alvina McGuire. Darrell was the second born of four children; he is survived by his siblings, Terry (Patty), Sherry (Mark), Rick (Donna), and Ki (Bryon). Darrell married his wife, Jo, on November 1st 1970. Darrell is survived by Jo McGuire, their two children Shane (Aimee) and Tess (Jim) and grand-children Taylar, Jessica, and Connor.

Darrell graduated from Selah High School in 1969, and immediately went to work in the family business, McGuire Lumber. He started outside and worked his way through many different positions eventually becoming yard manager. Many will remember his rather unorthodox organizational method of using magnets to hold the day’s orders to the roof of his orange, electric cart. Eventually Darrell moved inside, where he began working as a purchaser and earned a reputation for buying at the right time while also being able to source nearly any product. Throughout his career, he built many long standing relationships with contractors and co-workers with some becoming lifelong friendships, as to the day he passed, he was still communicating with Jim from Hall Forest Products, and often referred to him as his “best friend.” Throughout his life, Darrell was known for taking care of his people even if this meant keeping bail money on hand to ensure that the team would be there on Monday. The lumber yard provided a great sense of pride for Darrell, but also incredible stress; there are limits to what anyone would do for an employer, but those limits are nonexistent when that employer is family. When computers invaded his comfort zone, he adapted and was able to type astonishingly fast with just two fingers flying over the keyboard. He continued to adapt and, later in life, he even learned to text his grandchildren over his old flip phone. Family would often visit him at work (short but sweet visits)—and they always left with a bag of fresh popped popcorn and a rice crispy treat from the “secret drawer” of goodies that resided at his desk. Those that knew Darrell, knew that the yard and industry was his life; he spent 30 years at McGuire Lumber and another 14 years with Lumbermen’s and Helliesen. It was because of this that he began to tell people one sentence—“life is too short to work it away.” He was also proud to say that he closed the gait on an era—he was the last McGuire in the lumber business.

Back in the day, Darrell was perceived as trouble on four wheels, especially to his future in-laws. After all, a guy who liked to drag race in his 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner (that his father had helped “make a little faster”), wore dark sunglasses, and had cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve of his black t-shirt had to be bad, right? Little did they know that Darrell was a home-grown provider, who would give that black shirt off his back to those in need; when his kids grew up and tackled the world, he would send duct taped care packages filled with necessities, even going as far as to mail potatoes to a child in Hawaii. The thing that you need to know about Darrell—he was a man of few words. He didn’t need them. He communicated his love with his actions. Though not always with the intended results... At one point, when his son Shane was low on time, Darrell came by to help him— by taking care of his lawn. Darrell sprayed the yard to kill the clover, which was wonderful. Until the whole yard died because he had mixed up the roundup and 24-D sprayers, and covered Shane’s yard in roundup.

Darrell taught his family a lot of things; one of the most prevalent lessons would be the value of a job well done. Walking around his home, his own personal paradise, there is evidence of him everywhere—the beautiful planters and decks that he created, the smell of his fresh cut lawn, and the vision of him on the old mower, in his cutoffs, rocking out to his Walkman cassette tapes. His involvement is everywhere—he donated to the 4H, the boy scouts, and the Yakima Greenway; his work, with others, on the McGuire Playground is a real source of pride. He was a provider, a caretaker, and a friend. He was an excellent gardener, a connoisseur of kohlrabi, a Harley lover, a coin collector, a Papa’s-chicken-maker, and a believer in man’s best friend. He was a husband, a father and a grandfather. He was a great man and he truly touched more lives than he will ever know.

Tu me manques, Papa

—Punky

A short and informal service will be held at Langevin El Paraiso Funeral Home on Friday, April 28th at 1:00 PM. To share a memory of Darrell visit, www.lepfuneralhome.com.