Florence Alois McGuire

Florence "Posey" McGuire passed away on October 3, five days after she turned 101. In the past year she needed greater assistance with mobility and daily life but had lived to 100 independently and often spoke of how happy she was to be alive and her feeling that her long life was a gift.

Posey was born to Ralph Wesley Posey and Florence Gladys Atkins in Midwest, Wyoming near where her father was an oil drilling contractor at the time. The family then moved to Webster Groves, Missouri where Posey grew up. She loved sports though expressed frustration with the gender restrictions of her age such as basketball which only allowed single dribble without shooting. She played tennis, field hockey and continued playing golf into her 50's. Posey excelled in school and was double promoted twice. She earned a scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis and graduated at age 19 with a B.S. in Business Administration.

She had various jobs and always enjoyed the camaraderie that came with working with others and being part of a team. She spent most of her early years as a copywriter for the Famous-Barr Department Store in St. Louis where she wrote retail advertising that appeared in daily newspapers. Posey married Joseph L. McGuire in 1950 who graduated from St. Louis University with a dentistry degree. They moved from St. Louis to Denver in 1953. They had two children, Brian, who resides in Sedona Arizona with his wife Paula, and Bruce, who lives in Denver. Posey and Joseph were later divorced. Posey returned to her old vocation and worked as a copywriter for May D & F for several years in downtown Denver. She worked at other businesses as well and remained friends with many of her co-workers. Posey had breast cancer in her 70's and joined a support group and continued her friendship and luncheons with this group for the rest of her life.

Posey enjoyed games, reading, watching movies and plays, spending time with her friends and walking her various dogs. A true highlight of her life was the time she spent with her granddaughter Tian who joined our family in 2000. Friends and family will miss her friendship and sense of humor and she will be fondly remembered.