Marblehead resident Ann Maguire, an LGBTQ activist, breast cancer research advocate, political strategist and mentor who made a difference in countless lives, died Dec. 29. She was 80.
“I often talk about the debt we owe to the trailblazers who paved the way for all of us in the LGBTQ+ community today,” wrote Gov. Maura Healey on X. “When I think about those trailblazers, Ann Maguire is one of the first who comes to mind.”
Maguire, who lived in Marblehead for nearly 40 years, began her activism in Boston’s LGBTQ community in the early 1970s with a popular weekly radio show “GayWay” that provided support and encouragement when most gay people remained closeted. She hosted the show from 1973 to 1980. Maguire also created safe spaces for lesbians, including the bars Sisters in Provincetown and Somewhere in Boston.
“She was always referred to as a fighter. I don’t think my words are capable of describing how hard it was to grow up as an LGBTQ-plus individual in the 1940s, 1980s,” said Ben Pratt, her grandson. “The best way I can describe it is she saw a society that was unfair and in many ways unjust and sought to make positive change.”
He added, “It’s almost a cliche to say, but whenever Ann saw a problem, she sought out to fix it at its core.”
Maguire managed the winning 1974 campaign for State Rep. Elaine Noble, the first openly LGBTQ candidate elected to a state legislature in the U.S. She helped run campaigns for other candidates over the years, including Massachusetts State Rep. Sarah Peake and Provincetown Selectman David McChesney. In 1993, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino chose Maguire to manage his first mayoral campaign.
“She had a great capacity to see both the forest and the trees. Yes, run for office!” said friend Kim Cromwell. “But first, make sure your campaign strategy is to knock on every door, introduce yourself and listen to your voters.”
After surviving breast cancer herself, Maguire noted the lack of awareness and funding to combat the disease. She co-founded the National Breast Cancer Coalition in 1991, which helped triple federal funding for research. The coalition also lobbied for legislation like the National Mammography Standards Act and Cancer Registries Act which helped set quality standards for mammograms and collect data on cancer cases nationwide.
Maguire served as Boston’s Health and Human Services director under Mayor Raymond Flynn from 1987-89 when she pioneered the city’s annual homeless census. This census became the model for similar counts in cities across the country to measure the scale of homelessness and allocate resources.
“When she saw a problem, she fixed it. And that’s what she did … she would see a problem and she was going to fix it,” Maguire’s wife, Harriet Gordon, told the Current. “You would not get in her way because you knew she … never saw a problem that she didn’t fix.”
Maguire possessed the rare talent for working with diverse groups of people from Boston’s affluent Back Bay neighborhood to the homeless at Pine Street Inn and connecting people from different backgrounds, friends said. She played a pivotal role as one of the original founders of Helping Our Women (HOW), an organization dedicated to assisting women on the Outer Cape who are grappling with chronic or severe health conditions by providing support and resources to navigate their challenges.
“Ann knew how to think globally but act locally. She would strategize with people who thought about running for political office on one hand, and then later the same day ask friends to help her roll coins that had been tossed into the jar to fund the local dog park,” said Cromwell. “Or she would sit under an umbrella on the street to sell T-shirts for the kids’ sailing club. She was a force for good.”
Ann was born to Esther and Joseph Maguire in Worcester, on July 20, 1943. She grew up with her brother Joseph in Worcester and graduated from Bridgewater State University and Boston University. Preceding her in death were her beloved brother and her parents.
In 2019, a bench was dedicated to Ann Maguire in front of Town Hall in Provincetown by her friends. The plaque on the bench honors her multifaceted roles, stating, “Ann Maguire, Teacher, Mentor, Activist, Coach, Friend, She touched so many lives for the better, Somewhere, Everywhere.”
Maguire’s 39-year partnership and marriage with Gordon was a significant part of her life. McGuire often fondly described Harriet, along with her two daughters, Jennifer Pratt (married to Steven) and Alyson Aneshansley (married to Edward), as a “package deal.” Alongside her wife and children, she is survived by her grandchildren Benjamin Gordon Pratt, Elizabeth Ann Pratt, Jack Henry Aneshansley and Julia Rose Aneshansley.
To her friends and family, she was always quick to offer encouragement. In her memory, donations may be made to Helping Our Women, in Provincetown, an organization dear to her heart. A celebration of Maguire’s life will take place this spring at the Arlington Street Church, 351 Boylston St., Boston, with Gov. Maura Healey as speaker on June 1, at 1 p.m.
