James Madden McQuire, age 85 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, died peacefully on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born in Queens, NY, December 7, 1938, the youngest of five siblings, Jim was the son of the late Courtlandt and Marguerite Madden McQuire.

Jim graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1956, where he met a group of guys that have been by his side to this very day. He earned his degree in Counseling Psychology from Transylvania University, followed by a MA from San Francisco State.

His career would be a winding yet fun-filled road, and he held titles ranging from Counselor to Cook, Lifeguard to Taxi Driver, and Hippie to business owner. He even spent time living literally in a California Redwood Tree.

Jim gave himself the title of, “Love Warrior” and anyone who knew him knew that love was the foundation of all his thoughts and actions, and he used love as his North Star.

Enlisting in the United States Army in 1961, he would become a medic and be honorably discharged in 1963. During his time in the Army, he read the classics and taught himself to play guitar. This passion for music would continue to be nurtured throughout his life, and he was well known for writing songs, busking, and singing in the church choir. He truly believed that music was love in action, and that love, a.k.a. music, could solve all the worlds ills. He sought to teach this message through his songs and his teaching others to develop their own musical talents.

He married his first wife, Emma Mendez, in 1979 in Puerto Rico, and settled in Sandy Springs, GA, where they raised their daughter, Marguerite McQuire, Ph.D. Though the pair would separate, Jim and Emma would continue to be proud of Marguerite and ensure that she only knew love in her life from them.

A little more than twenty years ago, Jim’s life would change for the better when his childhood and lifelong friend, Frank Esposito, introduced him to a woman who he thought would be perfect for him. Ms. Hannah O’Donoghue was struck by Cupid’s arrow just as hard as Jim was, and they would marry in 2009, creating many happy and robust memories these many years as they united their two families as one. After many years in Georgia, they would move to Flemington, NJ, in 2022 to be closer to their immediate and extended families.

Jim was an amazing, loving, caring father, husband, and Pop-Pop. He was proud of his daughter’s significant accomplishments, and loved watching his young granddaughter, nieces, and nephews grow up. He will be fiercely missed, but his legacy of loving with his entire sense of Self will never be forgotten and always be a reminder to all who knew him that LOVE is the answer to everything.

In addition to his parents, Jim was preceded in death by his sister, Elodie, and his two brothers, Courtlandt and Harry.

Surviving is his loving wife, Hannah; his cherished daughter, Marguerite McQuire, Ph.D.; his adored stepdaughter and her husband, Amy and Chris Hollander; his amazing granddaughter, Fiona; his beloved sister, Gale Alger; the mother of his daughter, Emma Mendez; two generations of nieces and nephews; several extended family members here in the United States, Ireland and around the world; and many dear friends.

Friends and family are invited to gather together to celebrate James’s life on Friday, May 10, 2024, from 3:00-4:30 p.m., at Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

A Life Celebration service will follow the gathering beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the funeral home, and all are invited to bring heartfelt memories to share. If you are unable to attend but would like something read on your behalf, please click HERE to generate an email to the funeral home.

For those who are unable to attend in person, the services will be live-streamed beginning at 4:00 p.m.

You are encouraged to visit James’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

Memorial contributions in his honor and memory may be made to the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, via mail to P.O. Box 824061, Philadelphia, PA 19182-4061, or online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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