Brett S. McGuire

Mr. Brett Stuart McGuire, Sr., age 71, passed away at his home in Appling on June 14, 2023. He is preceded in death by his parents Major Byron and Geneva McGuire and his brother, Byron McGuire, Jr.

He is survived by his children, John Strelec (Deborah) of Evans, Georgia, Brook McGuire (Gary) of Cumming, Georgia and Brett McGuire Jr. of Martinez, Georgia, fiancée Beverly King, sister Barbara Roberts, grandchildren Andrew, Harley and Adam, and nieces and nephews Jeb, Kelly, Cheryl, Katie and Spencer, cousins Kathy, Connie, Elizabeth, John and Harrison, and his beloved dog, Miss Tora. He is also survived by his caretaker, Maria Slate, and best friends of nearly half-a-century, John Donaldson and Andre Miller.

Brett was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1951. The family then moved to North Miami Beach, Florida and Oahu, Hawaii and in 1957 moved permanently to Keg Creek Farm in Appling, Georgia. As a youth, Brett was responsible for feeding all the livestock each day and for corralling their 22 horses for weekend trail riders. He especially loved the days the local Girl Scouts came to ride! Brett played the piano at church on Sundays and played the keyboards and guitar as part of a band. As the only local band that could perform The Doors hit “Light My Fire,” they were very popular at local Teen Town weekend dances.

After graduating from Harlem High School, Brett enlisted in the US Army. He joined the Signal Corps out of Fort Gordon and deployed to South Korea to support military communications during the Vietnam War. In 1976, he returned home to Augusta and completed a Bachelor of Business Administration at Augusta College.

While his first paid job as a teenager was at McDonald’s, he spent most of his career at the Sweetheart Cup Company’s (Lily Tulip) factory in Augusta, Georgia. As the plant manager, he was very proud of his team’s long-running status as Sweetheart’s most profitable cup factory. He was even more proud to receive Georgia’s 2002 award for Mid-Sized Manufacturer of the Year. After retiring from Sweetheart, he became a licensed real estate agent and broker and founded Southern Living Realty.

As a life-long resident, he was passionate about helping the CSRA position itself for future growth and success. He is an alumna of Leadership Augusta. He sat on the Board of Directors for SAFE Homes of Augusta, University Health Care Foundation, the Augusta Red Cross and the Augusta Chapter of the American Heart Association. He served as the chairman of the Board of Directors for Augusta Technical College, was a trustee and chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Augusta Technical College Foundation and the Georgia Fund for Technical and Adult Education.

He was also a former Columbia County planning commissioner, executive director of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, a past chairman of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and the first chairman of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce "Drugs Don't Work" Program. He was also chairman of the Columbia County "Sister City" Committee and visited Poland multiple times through the Sister City program.

The funeral service will be Monday, June 19, 2023, at 11 AM in the chapel of Thomas Poteet & Son. The burial will be private.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to your favorite animal rescue program. Brett loved his rescue dog and would be pleased to know that other deserving animals would be given a chance to find forever homes.

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com