Thelma Irene Mcguirk

Thelma Irene McGuirk ascended to Heaven in the brilliant light of a thunderstorm in the early hours of July 22, 2016. It brought an end to an extraordinary life that lasted more than 88 years.
Thelma was born on January 23, 1928, in Wenatchee, WA, the second daughter of Marion and Hazel (Dooley) McCorkle. Her family soon relocated to Seattle and then north to Nome, Sitka, and Juneau, AK, where she graduated high school. She continued her education in Seattle, where she earned her nursing degree from Seattle University in 1947. The following year, she met the love of her life, Donald McGuirk, who worked as an elevator operator in the hospital where she worked as a surgical nurse. On September 23, 1948, Thelma married Don and remained his devoted wife and lifelong companion for over 67 years.
Thelma and Don raised three sons, Tom, Marty, and John, in a happy home in Des Moines, WA. She and Don provided their boys with much love and many unforgettable memories, including several memorable road trips to California, Mexico, Canada, Alaska, all the way east to New York City and back across the nation. Thelma enjoyed seeing the amazing sights and learning about the history of each place she visited.
Thelma loved the simple joys of life -- camping trips, holiday dinners with the whole family present, croquet games in the back yard, serenading us on her piano with her golden voice, birthday parties for her boys, baking in her kitchen, beating everyone in the family on the ping-pong table, or playing with her beloved dogs. Every kid in the neighborhood was welcome in her home, and anytime someone got hurt, they all ran to Nurse Thelma, who always had the right fix.
After her three boys grew up and moved away, Thelma and Don found freedom in traveling. The two of them visited Hong Kong, New Zealand, multiple trips to Hawaii, up the Alaska-Canada Highway to Anchorage to see her sister, Mary, and her family. In 1978, Thelma and Don made the 33-mile hike over the Chilkoot Trail in the Yukon, the route taken by thousands in the late 1890s during the Klondike Gold Rush. Thelma was also involved with the Seattle Chapter of “Sweet Adelines”, a barbershop chorus. The year she was president of her chapter, she brought back a First-Place ribbon in the regional competition.
Thelma and Don moved from Des Moines to the Port Orchard area in the 1980s and continued to enjoy their road trips -- Indiana, the entire Southwest, and all over their favorite spots in the Pacific Northwest, always with one of her precious Golden Retrievers in tow. Eventually, both of them settled at Retsil Veteran’s Home in Port Orchard, where Thelma remained near Don’s side until the very end.
Thelma is survived by her beloved Donald, and her sons, Marty (Bremerton) and John (Everett). She was preceded in death by her dear sister, Mary, and her first-born son, Tom. She was a mother, grandmother of five, and the great-grandmother of three. Thelma will always be remembered for her loving heart, her positive spirit, her brilliant sense of humor, her infectious smile and trademark laugh, and her loyalty to family and friends.