I first met Joe in the fall of 1975, our Freshman year in Fayerweather. He was across the hall from me , rooming with Kenny, part of a diverse and unique entry of guys from all over the country that showed up at Williams and has stayed close after all these years. We don't need to recount the list here. Joe loved to tell the story, years later, and I loved to hear it, about how one of the first days at school a bunch of us who were going to play football went to the Field House to work out and how we all tried to impress each other by running the fastest, the longest, and so on....he of course made it look so easy. We all loved Joe so much, from the start, although back in the day we wouldn't have called it that. He was super smart, funny, generous, studious, a true gentleman, but tough as hell when he put on the pads. I mean we all no doubt inflate our athletic prowess with the passage of time, but to play his position at the size he was, and play it so well, was just awesome. He was just relentless, with those big shoulder pads and that purple helmet squashing down all of that dark curly hair. Many of us, myself definitely included, had a little help from the athletic department to make it into Williams, but it was obvious Joe did it on his own, and that he was destined for big things. You just knew he had a view of the bigger picture. He combined football, fun, and schoolwork like few have ever done.
Being on opposite sides of the country not long after graduation, we didn't get to see each other often enough, but the few times we got together at the alumni golf tournament sure were memorable. He loved to laugh and to tell jokes and be surrounded by ''the boys'', he made a connection with everyone, he asked about your wife, your kids, he remembered their names, always. He was constantly talking about his wife and his two '' girls'' though I knew he knew they should properly be called ''women'' these days. When he talked about his family you could feel the pride and love oozing out of him. It just fit him perfectly. He was also so professionally accomplished, but you'd never hear it from him. The fact that he became a doctor, as he might've put it , was a no brainer. I'm sure he did Med School like in his sleep . He was, from what I understand, world class in the field of Ophthalmology, and I can imagine everyone of his patients loved him as much as his friends did. How secure would you feel if you were a patient of Dr. Joseph Maguire? I can just picture him calming someone down who was about to have their eyes operated on. " I got this '' he'd no doubt say..'' done it a million times... not to worry.'' I know for all of us he was always available for advice, or consultation or recommendation, or to answer a stupid question like '' what about those drugstore magnifiers do those hurt your eyes?" ( He said no. ) He was always ready to talk on the phone or send an email or a text. We were all stunned and devastated beyond belief by the news that he was sick, and wasn't it just like him to keep it quiet ? He didn't want to bother anyone. We all understood that was his choice and we respected it but if we had know sooner, I don' t know, maybe we could have helped him ? Comforted him and his family longer ? We knew the prognosis wasn't good but we hoped for .. what.. a miracle ? New treatment? More time ? Something ? It wasn't to be. We made our peace with it and said our tentative goodbyes in the best way we could. Then that terrible text from Kenny the morning after Thanksgiving with the news we never wanted to hear. And then after he passed away, to learn that he lost his wife Pat too ? Bridget and Maeve lost both parents ? Incomprehensible. Life is way too cruel, too unfair as if we had to be reminded of that. If Joe had been stricken with something else, and could've been helped or saved with something from his friends, an organ transplant, a blood donation, anything, there would've been a line from Philly stretching 100 miles long in five minutes. Dr. Joe Maguire embraced life and lived it fully, leaves two beautiful young ladies as a legacy, as well as countless grieving friends who will never forget him or the all too brief but brilliant bright line he shone on the world .