CLEVELAND, March 4 — Former International Vice-President Carl Phillip McGuire passed away after a long illness on February 29 at the Hospice Care Center in Ashland, Ky.
He was born Sept. 5, 1925, in Ashland to the late Carl L. and Sara Elizabeth Lowcy McGuire.
Brother McGuire hired out as a fireman on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway in 1943. He earned promotion to locomotive engineer in 1951.
He joined BLE Division 271 on Dec. 10, 1962, which was then located in Covington, Ky. The division later relocated to Russell and Brother McGuire served as local chairman and legislative representative.
In 1969, Brother McGuire became vice chairman of the C&O General Committee and succeeded to the office of General Chairman later that same year. He served in this office for 12 years.
Brother McGuire was elected to the position of Third Alternate International Vice President at the Second Quinquennial Convention in 1976.
Vacancies on the Board moved him up to the first alternate position. In 1979, he was elevated to the position of International Vice-President following the retirement of James R. Birrell.
He served as a Vice-President until the size of the BLE Advisory Board was reduced in a referendum vote by the BLE membership prior to the 1981 convention. At the ’81 convention, he won election to the position of Second Alternate International Vice President.
In 1984, Brother McGuire became an International Vice-President once again after the retirement of Charles M. Moore. He remained a Vice-President until his retirement in 1986.
Brother McGuire was a World War II U.S. Army veteran and served in the railroad battalion in Belgium and France.
Brother McGuire is survived by his wife, Melba Jacqueline “Jackie” Lilly McGuire of Ashland; a stepson and his wife, Danny and Bonnie Brumit of Huntington, W.Va.; two brothers and a sister-in-law, E. Patrick McGuire of Ashland and David S. and Louise McGuire of Ironton, Ohio; and a sister, Mary Joan Meece of Walton, Ky.
A private service and visitation will be held.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice Care Center, 2330 Pollard Road, Ashland, Ky. 41101.