Remembering Ursula McGuire
SDA mourns the loss and celebrates the legacy of Ursula McGuire, former Board member of SDA and Senior Action Network before that. Ursula spent her life fighting for the rights of seniors and disabled people, and was a member of the 504 sit-ins in 1977. Ursula will be greatly missed, but we will never forget her compelling presence at meetings, hearings, and actions, and the contributions she made to our movement. We are also moved that Ursula chose to leave a legacy gift to SDA; this makes her part of our Howard Wallace Legacy Circle, a deeply meaningful way to contribute to SDA through planned giving.
About Ursula:
Ursula was born in Northeast Pennsylvania between Scranton and Wilkes Barre. After graduating from Misericordia College, she taught in New Jersey and then joined the Maryknoll Sisters, a Catholic missionary community. Ursula was assigned to teach at a women’s college in Tanzania, where she taught for two years.
As a result of the medication she took for malaria, she became quite sick. After her return to the U.S., she became a part of the Catholic Worker Movement in New York City. The CW is a pacifist organization and when Ursula arrived, they were in the midst of anti-war activities and supported conscientious objectors. In the midst of all this, she became completely paralyzed and was hospitalized at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
After months of speech and physical therapy, Ursula decided to move to Berkeley, CA. She became an active member of the Center For Independent Living, which advocated for the necessary societal changes needed to help make independent living for people with disabilities more possible.
Ursula also took part in the month-long occupation of the San Francisco Federal Building during the nationwide campaign for civil rights for people with disabilities. The sit-in brought about the signing of the 1977 Health, Education, and Welfare regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first civil rights protections for people with disabilities in the United States. This led to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990.
In 1980, Ursula started working for the federal government’s civil rights division as a Human Rights Specialist. She also became involved with Senior Action Network, where she served as a Board member. She later continued her involvement with Senior and Disability Action for years as a Board member before she became a resident of Laguna Honda Rehabilitation Hospital. This year, on the occasion of her 90th birthday, SDA staff and Board presented her with a certificate honoring her contributions to the senior and disability movement. Ursula passed away on June 28, shortly after her birthday.
Memories of Ursula:
“Ursula was like a black bear on the outside and a teddy bear on the inside. She was a formidable and tireless advocate for the rights of the disabled and a lover of the streets of San Francisco. I miss my dear friend of many years.”
– Angela Donnelly, friend of Ursula
“We got to know Ursula McGuire (known as Molly McGuire at Laguna Honda Hospital) over 30 years ago. Our eldest son, Patrick, had broken his neck and was paralyzed. Ursula knew about this through a mutual Maryknoll friend and, although she had never met us, she came over to Berkeley on several occasions to support Patrick. We were very moved by this act of thoughtfulness and kindness. Patrick recovered and this was the beginning of a long friendship with Ursula.
Ursula has always been at the forefront of the struggle for human rights and social justice. She was active in the lettuce boycotts and the campaign to stop U.S. militarization (e.g., with School of the Americas Watch). She identified with the struggle of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza against the Israeli genocide. She was deeply committed to the unhoused and disabled communities; when walking beside her while she traveled in her wheelchair through San Francisco, we saw how so many unhoused people knew her, greeted her, and were her friends.
¡Viva Ursula (Molly) McGuire! ¡Presente!”
– Katharine Davies Samway and Tom Samway
"We who knew Ursula as a board member and friend so admired all that she accomplished, her independent spirit, great sense of humor and heartwarming smile."
– Betty Traynor