James "Jim" John McGuire

James J. “Jim” McGuire , age 93, of Holstein, passed away on Thursday, August 04, 2022 at the Holstein Senior Living of Holstein.  A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, August 13, 2022 at 10:30 AM at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Church of Holstein with the Fr. Dan Rupp and Msgr. Kenneth A. Seifried officiating.  Burial will be at the Calvary Cemetery of Holstein with military rites conducted by the American Legion Dessel-Schmidt Post #225 of Holstein.  A visitation will be held on Friday, August 12, 2022 from 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM with a rosary and scriptural prayer service at 7:00 PM at the church. 

James J. McGuire was born on August 2, 1929, to Hugh Ennis McGuire and Florence Mary (Hass) McGuire at Sioux Valley Hospital in Cherokee, Iowa. Jim grew up in Holstein, Iowa, where he played football and ran track in school. After graduating from Holstein High School in 1947, he attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. The following August, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as a medic at the 98th General Hospital in Munich, Germany. When his father suffered a heart attack in June of 1953, he was called home on emergency leave to help with the family auction business. Two months later, he received an honorable discharge.

He was introduced to Margaret Madilyn Wingert in 1953 by his sister, Mary, who taught school with Margaret at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Storm Lake.  On June 2, 1954, he and Margaret married. They began their life together on a farm outside of Cushing, Iowa, moving to Holstein in 1956, just days before the birth of their second child. In all, they had seven children: Molly, Margaret (Peggy), Timothy, Maureen, Michele, Martha, and Mary Pat.

After his father’s death in 1961, Jim took the reins at McGuire Auction Co., Inc., the company that was started by his grandfather, Pat McGuire, in 1888. He spent his entire career in the auction and real estate business, working with many other family members including his brother-in-law Pat Forristal, his nephew P. J. McGuire, his son Tim McGuire, and the current owners, his daughter Martha Boyle and her husband Marty. An early McGuire Auction Company motto claimed the company could “Sell the Earth and Everything On It,” and Jim seemed to do just that, selling two different Iowa colleges during his career. He was both ringleader and entertainer at auctions, peppering his patter with comments like “sold to the little lady from Chicago,” and “made inIreland under Polish supervision.” His specialty, however, was farmland, and he prided himself on knowing within dollars exactly how much a farm would bring. He retired from McGuire Auction Co., Inc. in 2017.
Jim was very proud of his large family, and he dearly loved his wife, Margaret. He also enjoyed traveling with Margaret far and wide, attending his children’s and grandchildren’s activities, and visiting and traveling with his children and their families whenever he had the opportunity to do so.

He loved Holstein, and he served his hometown in many ways, as a city councilman, at his church (Our Lady of Good Counsel), with area beef and pork producers, on behalf of the local Democratic Party, and by assisting with many fundraisers and community betterment projects. He was a faithful Catholic, leading a life of service and often giving to those in need both financially or through his vast knowledge of real estate, auctions, and the area and its history. Active in local and state real estate and auction associations, he was honored to be named to the Iowa Auctioneers Hall of Fame in 2012. 

On most Saturdays in the fall, you could find Jim watching his beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football team if he was not behind the microphone crying an auction. He also enjoyed riding horses, especially the Arabian stallion that Margaret purchased for him on their 25th wedding anniversary. In addition, Jim like to play tennis, work in his yard, keep his swimming pool immaculate, read mystery novels and newspapers of all kinds, market his farm crop, and of course, work in his auction business.  He never met a stranger, and he loved meeting and talking to people wherever he would go.

He is survived by his children Molly (Robert) Sample of Houston, TX, Peggy LeBrun of Milwaukee, WI, Timothy (Lori) McGuire of Holstein, IA, Maureen (Dennis) Dudley of Coeur d'Alene, ID, Michele (Brian) Hodous of Los Angeles, CA, Martha (Marty) Boyle of Holstein, IA, and Mary Pat (Armando) Peri of Fairfax, VA.  He also will be deeply missed by his grandchildren: Teresa Sample of Houston, TX, Sarah LeBrun of Milwaukee, WI, Laura LeBrun of St. Paul, MN, Ashley McGuire (fiancée Andy Woolard) of Denver, CO, Amanda (Andrew) Nees of Early, IA, Allisa (Brett) Friedrichsen of Holstein, IA, Ryan McGuire of Ames, IA, Kevin McGuire of Holstein, IA, Alexis Dudley of Coeur d'Alene, ID, Shannon Dudley of Boise, ID, Dr. Nicole Boyle of Humboldt, IA, Katherine (Elliott) Smith of Okoboji, IA, Rachel (Austin) Struchen of Holstein, IA, Angela Livezey of Cincinnati, OH, Grace Boyle (boyfriend Ryan Senden) of Sioux Falls, SD, Madilyn Peri of Fairfax, VA, Sofie Peri of Fairfax, VA and Mia Peri of Fairfax, VA, and his great grandchildren: Mitchell Nees; Carli, Henry, Lane, Colt, and Tate Friedrichsen; Kenleigh McGuire; Nora and Hazel Smith; and Eleanor Struchen.  Several cousins, four sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews, who were very good to him, also survive.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret in 1995, his parents, his siblings Pat (Rita) McGuire, Mary Venrick, and Celia (Pat) Forristal, as well as all of Margaret’s siblings, many of their spouses, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family members. 

If you would like to make a charitable donation in memory of Jim, the family suggests OLGC Church –Stained Glass Window Fund, 517 Mueller Street, Holstein, IA 51025 or the American Legion 225 Dessel Schmidt Chapter, 121 N. Main Street, Holstein, IA 51025, for the Avenue of Flags Maintenance Fund.

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