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 Carol McGuire graduated
from Chico High School in 1957, graduated from Kilgore
Junior College in 1959, and received a bachelor's degree
in industrial arts from Sam Houston State in 1961.
He was commissioned into the U. S. Marine Corps, serving
from 1961-1966 as a pilot, landing signal officer, attack
class officer, intelligence officer, and assistant operations
officer, with units involved in the war in South Vietnam.
He volunteered for the U. S. astronaut corps, and worked
for Braniff Airways from 1967-1982, flying the British/French
supersonic transport Concorde between Dallas and Washington.
In a July 2000 interview with the Houston Chronicle,
he gave this view of the SST, which had recently crashed:
"The plane handled very well. It was a lot of
fun to fly. It took off and you could climb up quickly,
6,000 feet a minute, so you climb much faster than a
conventional airplane. It was the most safe airplane
I think I've ever been in."
He worked for Piedmont Airlines, which became USAir
in 1990, from 1983-1999, and in March of 1993 was forced
to take medical leave because of the development of
Parkinson's disease.
He has since worked to help those suffering from Parkinson's
and other conditions, and is known for an attitude best
summarized in his saying, "I have Parkinson's,
but Parkinson's does not have me."
Texas Governor Ann Richards commended him in 1993 "for
your tireless dedication and generous service as a volunteer
through the Houston Hospice." He also founded a
support group at the Northwoods Presbyterian Church
of Houston.
He is retired and lives in Houston, and has kept active
through his support work and studying such continuing
education subjects as stained glass craftsmanship and
Spanish. "Carol has served as a role model for those who
have an appreciation of the
incalculable contribution to
society one can make by turning
a challenge into an opportunity,"
said Ken Jordan, a classmate
of McGuire's at Sam Houston
State and a career Marine. "In
this capacity he has brought
great credit on our university
as well as his community."
As profiled
at the November 9, 2001 Distinguished
Alumni Banquet
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