Author Tom McGuire leaves legacy of love of family and the North

“Tom was a very modest person, not one who ever wanted to promote himself or his writing. I’m very sad that we won’t have more books from him, but what we do have will survive the test of time.” – Nancy Lord.

Tom McGuire,79, died Feb. 6 while skating on Chilkoot Lake near the home where he and wife, Sally, raised their four children. The family will celebrate his life at a later date.

McGuire published two acclaimed novels in his 70s. “Steller’s Orchid” won an Independent Publisher’s silver medal for the best Pacific/West fiction of 2019. “The Curve of Equal Time” (2024) was inspired by his 30 years as a deckhand on the Southeast seiner, Aimee…