- Date Of Birth: October 4, 1929
- Date Of Death: March 7, 2016
- State: Iowa
Cecelia Margaret Schmit McGuire, daughter of Peter and Sarah (Rowell) Schmit was born on October 4, 1929, at Algona, Iowa. She was raised in the village of St. Joseph, Iowa. At the age of four, she went to St. Joseph Catholic School at the directive of her mother to accompany her sister, Sarah, who was five. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1946. Cecelia then graduated from Kansas City Business College. After returning to St. Joe, she worked at Wiedenhoff’s (Snap-On).
On September 27, 1949, she was united in marriage to Leonard McGuire at the St. Joseph Church. They resided and farmed on Cecelia’s Uncle, Louis Schmit’s farm, where the couple lived their entire married life. Cecelia, who played the cornet in high school, was inspired by her father’s musical passion. She proudly stated, “Dad played the trumpet at Sunday Mass!” Cecelia had a tremendous gift of sharing her love of work with her children and grandchildren. She was a lifetime member of the St. Joseph Parish and a member of the Catholic Daughters of America. One of her favorite past-times was playing 500 with her card club monthly for many years. Cecelia’s involvement in politics started when her husband, Leonard, was asked to run for the House of State Representatives.
In 1976, Cecelia and Leonard were invited to Washington D.C. to attend President Carter’s Inauguration and the Presidential Inauguration Ball. She was invited to Washington D.C. for a national prayer breakfast and also as a small group of supporters who were invited to the White House when President Carter was preparing for his re-election campaign. Cecelia was also known to receive calls directly from Rosalynn Carter prior to the 1980 presidential election. One of her greatest honors was in 1984 when she was selected as a national delegate for Walter Mondale in San Francisco, California. She was always passionate about the farm, and upon Leonard’s death, she became involved in the management of the farm business with her sons. She spent the following years grooming the farm acreage meticulously and was very proud of the Schmit century farms.
Cecelia passed away Monday, March 7, 2016 at the Good Samaritan Care Center at Algona, Iowa at the age of 86. She is survived by eight children, John (Katie), Cascade, Iowa; Robert (Rob Williamson), Overland Park, Kansas; Peter (Gaylene), Algona, Iowa; Maureen McGuire, St. Joseph, Missouri; Martin (Camille), Des Moines, Iowa; Irene McGuire-Robeson, Algona, Iowa; Kathleen (Ed) Hrdlicka; and George (Shirley), Ames, Iowa. She is also survived by 28 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Also surviving is her brother, Michael (Rosanne) Schmit of Algona; and sister, Donna Thilges of Des Moines; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughter, Laura McGuire; sisters, Dorothy Pruitt, Mary Majerus, and Sarah Centgraf; brother, Thomas Wagner, who was killed in Pearl Harbor.
