Obituary of Frank McGUIRE

August 10, 1931 – Glasgow, Scotland March 23, 2019 – Calgary, Alberta Frank McGuire beloved husband of Katherine McGuire (nee Dougall) of Calgary passed away on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at the age of 87 years. Frank was born the third son of six children during the second year of the great depression in the city of Glasgow. As a young boy, Frank developed a great love of football and spent many hours on Glasgow Green. At the age of fourteen he was invited to compete for the Scottish Schools against the best of England’s schools. His play managed to catch the headlines of the evening newspaper who dubbed him a “young star with magic boots”, a fallacy since he did not even own a pair of football boots, as his family was too poor to afford them. Upon finishing school, Frank knew that he wanted to enter the printing industry and he took it upon himself to visit every printing shop in Glasgow. Finally, he stopped into a company in the center of Glasgow, Laidlaw and MacKenzie, a printer and publisher and convinced the foreman to bring him on as a compositor. So began Frank’s apprenticeship and love affair with the printing industry that lasted more than 60 years. At age 19, Frank decided to do his national service with the Royal Air Force as an air traffic controller. During this time Frank was selected to play for the base football team and was quickly spotted by several English teams. During his time with the RAF, Frank played for Derry City in the Irish League. His heart always remained in Scotland though and eventually played for the Ross County Football Club for the remainder of his time at the RAF. Frank immigrated to Canada in 1953, following Katherine, “the love of his life” to Toronto. He began work in Canada as a typesetter working for Toronto’s only Jewish newspaper. This was followed by time at the Salvation Army and McMaster University where Frank continued to guide organizations in printing and communications management. In 1975 Frank and his family moved west to Edmonton where he was appointed Queen’s printer for the Province of Alberta during the government of Peter Lougheed. In 1980 Frank was selected as general manager of the Canadian Encyclopedia Project. His main duty was to secure funding for the project and manage the business activities of the organization. Five years later, in the spring of 1985, the three-volume set was published. It was the largest printing job in Canadian history; 463,500 copies in all. The reviews that followed ranged from complementary to ecstatic. The encyclopedia became a fixture in school libraries across Canada and tens of thousands of sets were pre-sold. Frank always considered this his greatest challenge and accomplishment. In 1986, Frank joined Ryerson University as Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management. Along with teaching classes, Frank used his extensive industry contacts to modernize the program, providing excellent opportunities for his graduates. Frank retired in 1996 and was bestowed the honour of Professor Emeritus from Ryerson. Frank was passionate about the news and was known to read three of Canada’s main daily papers. Frank was also an avid tennis player, soccer coach, competitive swimming official and father. He leaves to mourn his wife Katherine; children, Sheila (David Van Vliet), Lesley (Doug Karmen) and Ian (Penney White); along with four grandchildren, Jenna and Devan Van Vliet, Lindsey Karmen and Zachary McGuire. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In living memory of Frank McGuire, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Road S.E., Calgary, AB, T2X 3J3, Telephone: 403-256-9575.