Denis Maguire

The long and fruitful life of Denis Maguire, loved by many, esteemed by all, ended a little after midnight on November 14, 2005. He was 87. Denis was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, the sixth of John and Molly Maguire's nine children. John and his brother Will owned "Maguire Bros." where they made candy, root beer, ice cream and the like. Denis attended Brockton High School, '36, and Thayer Academy, '37. He earned scholarships to Harvard College, '41, where he studied American history and graduated cum laude. In WWII he was, briefly, a Navy air cadet, but he soon transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps. As a navigator in the Air Transport Command he guided bombers and transports around the world. British Guiana, Ascension Island, Glasgow, Casa Blanca, Baghdad, Khartoum, Accra were way stations. He brought home carved ivory, ebony elephants and a star sapphire. In 1942 he married Gene A. Bodine of Harrisburg, Virginia, and their first child, Hallie, was born soon afterwards. Mustered out as a captain in 1946, Denis entered Harvard Law School on the G.I. Bill and graduated in 1948. He practiced law in Boston for 43 years with the firm which later bore his name, Harrison & Maguire, now Robinson & Cole. Years of steady work gave him a reputation for honesty and for expertise in real estate law. He was president of the Massachusetts Conveyancers Association, treasurer of the Boston Bar Association, and a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. His heart, however, belonged to the cause of equal access to justice for the poor. He devoted countless hours to Greater Boston Legal Services. In the course of 32 years he was a member of the board, vice president and then its president. He gave many additional hours to the Volunteer Lawyers Project. So great was his devotion to equal justice that his peers conferred on him the Memorial Services Award in 1985 and, in 1991, both the Pro Bono Award and the Service to the Profession Award. His legacy endures. The Boston Bar Association renamed its public service award the Denis Maguire Public Service Award, now in abeyance, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project renamed its annual pro bono award the Denis Maguire Pro Bono Award. Community service of other kinds called him. He was a solicitor, then captain and later chairman of the Brookline Red Feather Campaign, a United Way predecessor. When he and Gene moved to Westford, Massachusetts, now with three children, Hallie, Gavin and James, he saw the need for zoning laws in the town. He worked for the next 30 years to enact and then administer them. He was a founding member and later chairman of the Planning Board. He was a member and unofficial counsel to the Westford Town Committee. Denis served Charles River Academy, a small private school for learning-disabled children, as treasurer for many years. He and Gene organized benefit auctions for the school featuring himself as auctioneer. He enjoyed the role of benefit auctioneer so much he reprised it for the A.C.L.U., the Kidney Foundation and the Fenn School. Meantime he and Gene had two more children, daughters Arell and Alex. In 1969 Denis and his children lost Gene to cancer. Undaunted, Denis married Ann Marie Nielsen of Holderness, New Hampshire the following year. They had two sons, Thomas and John. Ann Marie was his affectionate and devoted wife until the day he died. Denis was a child of the Great Depression. Faithful to his roots, he was a fervent New Deal Democrat. As the tide has risen for conservatives in recent decades, Denis' liberal ideals burned brighter. If words were brickbats, no window in a Republican White House would have gone unbroken. Denis did more than just talk; he was for example a tireless organizer in the successful election of Fr. Robert Drinan to Congress. Denis retired from the practice of law in 1991. Soon afterwards he and Ann Marie and sons moved to Whitefield, Maine. There Denis applied himself with his customary industry but to domestic tasks. He cut, split and stacked enough firewood to warm a small town. He planted fruit trees and grapevines. With his mother's hand-cranked 1903 bread mixer, every week he baked loaves of fragrant bread, baskets of rolls and cookies that may have been more healthful than sweet. He read history, biography, politics, fiction and The New York Times. He completed the virtually endless task of restoring his 1794 farmhouse. He and Ann Marie built a home on Swan's Island off Bass Harbor, Maine. He liked to sit in the kitchen and read poetry to her. As his years accrued he did less physical work but exercised faithfully. He propelled himself through daily walks of two or three miles. Sometimes he fell and found it hard to get up again. It has been said that he was picked up by most of the women on Swan's Island. Denis was a modest man of great accomplishments. He prized gentleness and compassion. He had a cheerful heart and an even disposition. He loved his family. He believed in God and the Gospels. In his last days as his mind fell into shadow, he could still recite the Lord's Prayer. When he could no longer say it all, he took comfort in hearing it recited by Ann Marie and his daughter-in-law, Barbara. Denis will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife Ann Marie Maguire, his son, Thomas P. Maguire both of Whitefield, Maine; his daughter Hallie Goelet, her husband, Michael, of Norwich, Vermont and their children Anne Sijmonsbergen, her husband Renee Sijmonsbergen, Henry and Phillip, and their granddaughter, Sofia Sijmonsbergen; his son, James B. Maguire, his wife, Barbara A. Appleby, and their son Ben of North Yarmouth, Maine; his daughter, Alex Auty, her husband, Chris, and their children, Samantha and Jack, of Durham, New Hampshire; his son, John F. Maguire, of Portland, Maine; his brother Richard Maguire and his wife Mary Jo of Harpswell, Maine; his sister Ruth Hasson of North Pomfret, Vermont and by many, many more nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces. His son, Denis Gavin Maguire, late of Ayer, Massachusetts, and his daughter, Arell M. Taylor, late of Merrimac, New Hampshire, predeceased him. The memorial service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on November 22, 2005 at St. Denis Catholic Church, 298 Grand Army Road, Whitefield, Maine. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Greater Boston Legal Services, 197 Friend Street, Boston, MA 02114 or to Maine General Medical Center, Augusta Campus, 6 East Chestnut Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.