Althea Alberta McGuire, 100

Althea Alberta McGuire, 100 years young, passed away peacefully Thursday, March 28, 2019, at Good Samaritan Society in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Althea Alberta (Fialka) McGuire was born July 1, 1918, in Billings to Albert William Fialka and Bessie Eckert Fialka. She graduated from Ronan High School in May 1936.

Althea married Kenneth Lynn McGuire, the love of her life, on Jan. 28, 1937. They moved to Alberton, Montana, where Althea’s parents ran the Red and White Store. In 1942 Althea and Kenneth moved to Kalispell where their son, Bill, was raised and Kenneth was a local business owner. He ran McGuire Motors and Greg’s Mobile Homes with his business partner, Buck LeDuc. Althea moved to Spokane in 2003 to be near her sister, Audrey Cooper.

Althea wrote in a journal: “I grew up during the Great Depression, but we didn’t have it so bad as many did; Dad always worked and we always had a nice home and plenty to eat.” This memory must have set a tone for her life. Althea and Kenneth’s home on Fifth Street West in Kalispell was a place for large family gatherings with lots of good food. What, Mike, her grandson, remembers is the smell of her home. It was a warm combination of home-cooked meals, canned meats, fruits and vegetables, coffee, spices, tea and apples from the tree in the backyard. She always had a beautiful garden with flowers, vegetables, raspberries, and a mulch pile. No matter the meal, the placemats were laid with care, the milk was in a pitcher, the silverware was polished, and we always ate from the Desert Rose china. Ken, another grandson, remembers fishing with his grandmother. She caught the biggest fish of the day. She had a smile a mile wide; she had “out-fished the boys.”

Althea was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Lynn McGuire; her son, William Albert McGuire; her sister, Audrey O’Neill Cooper; and brother, Ardean W. Fialka.

She leaves behind two grandsons, Ken McGuire of Kent, Washington (wife Deanna), and Mike McGuire of Helena; and three great-grandsons, Brady McGuire of Renton, Washington, Travis McGuire of Kent, and Brendon McGuire of Billings; also a daughter-in-law, Gay McGuire, of San Antonio, Texas. There are many nieces and nephews that loved her dearly.

A celebration of Althea’s life will be at from 4 to 6 p.m. April 25 at Sykes Cafe. If you knew Althea and have memories to share, please come.

Her remains are interred at Glacier Memorial Gardens.