Obituary of Travis David McGuire

Travis was born in Nashville, Tennessee on March 5, 1942, to Ernest Lee & Naomi Ford McGuire. At his arrival he had 3 older siblings: Mary Caroline ,13, Betty Ann, 10, and Harry Lee, 3. The family lived in Nashville until 1950 when they purchased a house on McGavock Pike in Donelson. After that move, the family added their last member in 1951 with the birth of Gary Ford McGuire. Travis attended Donelson and then Stanford Elementary Schools. He then moved on to Donelson High School where he played the clarinet in the band. He was selected for All State Band in high school and was offered a scholarship to Vanderbilt. Travis was an Eagle Scout with Troop 360 in Donelson and loved to camp with his troop and patrol. He chose to enter the Tennessee National Guard after graduating and completed his basic and advanced training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After completing his training he married Tavara McAlpin, his high school sweetheart. Together they lived in Donelson and then moved to California. Returning to Nashville to have their children they lived in Hermitage and later Mt. Juliet. Travis and Tavara had 3 children. David Victor, Trisha Dee, and Dean Fitzgerald. Tragically David lost his life while serving in the US Navy in 1988. Travis never fully recovered from that loss. He is survived by Dee and Dean McGuire as well as his grandchildren: Vincent and Duncan McGuire, and Gretchen, Kenny, and Chris Kuhn. Travis had a lifelong interest in aviation. He wanted to enter the military for that training, but, as he wore glasses, he was not eligible for flight training. He also had an early interest in computers and attended school to learn programming. He graduated at the top of his class and was hired to teach at the school after graduation. He spent a good bit of his working life as a programmer working at Cummins Sign Company in Nashville. He was also quite mechanically inclined. He could and would fix anything. Eventually Travis sought the open road and became an over-the-road truck driver. He did this for many years. He moved to Memphis where he managed a warehouse for several years. He moved back to Nashville and started a landscaping business which he owned for 30 years. From Gary Travis was my hero. He was 9+ when I was born and told me that, somehow, my birth changed him. He said he’d been a bit wild but figured out that he needed to calm down for me. For me, ours was the perfect age difference. He was old enough that he didn’t feel the need to torture me. He let me tag along, sometimes, and taught me so many things. He taught me chess, how to ride a bike, and how automotive differentials work. He also stepped in to protect me from bullies and bought my first baseball glove. We lived together a couple of times over the years and even went out looking for dates together… with mixed results! I will miss Travis. We spoke together on the phone almost every Wednesday night for many, many years. My job on Monday and Tuesday was to find a good joke or two to begin the conversation. We pretty much solved all the world’s problems on those Wednesday night calls, and I will miss them… and Travis.