Joyce Kilmer

About Me

I was born in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 27th, the elder of two daughters of Melvin and Mildred Kilmer. I lived on a farm until entering junior high school, when we moved into town to be near Ottawa Hills High School, where I graduated. While attending Kendall Art College in Grand Rapids, I worked for the Herpolsheimer’s Dept. Store in its advertising department.

I then married Thomas McGuire, who was in the military, and we moved to Cherry Point, N.C., Marine Air Station, where he was a Navy corpsman. After his discharge, we moved back to Grand Rapids and had two sons, Matthew and Michael. In 1962, we moved to Medina, Ohio, and had a daughter, Maureen. I worked for the Medina County Gazette in its advertising department.

In 1972, we moved to Loveland, where I worked for the Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald and the Thompson Valley Sun plus advertising agencies and printing companies in the area. I also became active in the civic and art communities, serving as co-chairman of Loveland’s celebration of the Bicentennial and as president of the Loveland Art League.

Returning to college, I studied art at Colorado State University before moving to the mountains of Colorado in 1987 and becoming active in the art community in Estes Park, CO.