Ione McGuire
Ione Olive McGuire, widow of Kendal Louis McGuire, Kipling, Sask., died on Saturday, December 16, 2006, at the age of 84 years. The funeral service was held in the Kipling United Church, Kipling, Sask., on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 2:00 p.m., with Elizabeth Goodson officiating. Cremation with interment in the Windthorst Cemetery. The urn bearers were Mathew Markham and Meaghan McGuire.
Ione came from humble beginnings. Her father Howard Smith was a Barnardo boy from England. He came to Canada at the age of 13. He arrived in Wolseley and set to work that very day on a plow. He continued to work as a farm laborer until he was able to purchase his own land south of Windthorst.
Howard Smith married Teressa Clark who was the daughter of William J. Clark and Maria Lamport. Ione was their first child and she was born on the Wright farm, three miles south of Windthorst on March 8, 1922.
Ione learned about loss early on in her life. Her mother Teressa passed away in 1932, at the age of 31. Ione was only ten years old. Then when she was 17, Grandma and Grandpa Clark who had been very involved in helping raise mom, moved back to Ontario.
Ione attended the Crocus, Dalzell and Windthorst Schools, and attended Normal School in Regina in 1939/40. Her first teaching job was at River Ayr School in the Broadview School District. She taught there for three years followed by a year at Buffalo Plains in 1944. In 1945, she taught at Golden Ridge and then moved over to Peebles and taught there for the next two years.
On July 30, 1947 Ione married Kendal McGuire in Kennedy. They resided on the McGuire homestead. Once married she became a full fledged farmer and cattle hand. She truly was a partner to Kendal on the farm. She spent countless hours cultivating, hauling grain and combining. She purchased her own Charolais cattle in the early 1970’s, and later introduced the Cianea breed to the Charolais herd.
In 1957, Kendal and Ione purchased an old tractor shed which they moved to Kenosee Lake and it served as their cabin for almost forty years. There are so many fond memories of swimming lessons at the lake along with boating and water skiing there. Friends young and old would stop in anytime for drinks and visiting.
Ione’s hobbies included: sewing, knitting, gardening, reading, cross-word puzzles, painting, dancing and playing cards. She also really enjoyed berry picking.
Ione really enjoyed playing board games and cards with her grandchildren. Her favorites included chip rummy, snakes and ladders and yahtzee. Being a teacher she always offered up scrabble but usually didn’t have too many takers.
She was one of the first females on the Board of the Kipling Cooperative Association. She was involved with the Kipling Skating Club and Music Festivals. She volunteered for the Donor’s Choice appeal for several years in our area. Ione and Kendal were one of the founding couples of the Winter Dance Club. Kendal and Ione spent many of the winter months bonspieling in the neighboring towns.
In 1983 they built their dream home in Kipling. In the mid-eighties they bought their motor home and had several years of enjoyment with that. They travelled to Texas and Arizona. Ione was able to remain in her home until her hospitalization. She loved that house.
Ione was predeceased by her husband Kendal on November 11, 1999, her granddaughter, Jennifer Lynn McGuire. Ione is survived by her children: Dennis McGuire, Kipling, Sask., Marilyn (Robert) Markham, Langenburg, Sask. and Ellen McGuire, Regina, Sask.; grandchildren: Meaghan, Jeremy and Brendan McGuire, Mathew and Evan Markham and Tyler and Kendal Szilagyi; great grandchildren: Madison, Dylan, Tyson and Bryce; brother Allan (Jean) Smith; sister Shirley (Dan) Sexsmith, all of Regina; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Doris Collins, Vancouver, B.C., Ella Johnson, Calgary, Alta., Leta (Bill) Goodwin, Calgary, Alta. and Allie MacDonald, Regina, Sask. as well as her nieces and nephews and their families.
The funeral arrangements were entrusted to Michael Rey of Tubman Cremation and Funeral Services.
