TEACHING was not just a job for James McGuckin, it was a vocation he loved.
The physics teacher would be one of the first to arrive at Ballymena Academy each morning and one of the last to leave.
In the evening he would mark homework or devise science experiments for classes. He was also heavily involved in other school activities such as the radio and electronics club and sports, helping to referee rugby on Saturday mornings.
James’s ex-colleagues have described how his dedication, integrity and support of other teachers brought him respect throughout the school.
There have also been many many messages from ex-pupils who remember him fondly.
No matter what the background of the child, he did everything he could to help each one of them, with some of his students going on to receive some of the country’s highest honours.
James was born to Mary and Joe McGuckin in the village of The Loup, near Magherafelt, in February 1939. He was the eldest of 10 children, three of whom died in infancy.
While he spent a lot of his younger days helping out on local farms, James also found time to excel at school.
At Rainey Endowed in Magherafelt, he won a scholarship to study at Queen’s University in Belfast, where he graduated with a degree in physics. He also did his master’s degree at Queen’s.
He taught for 42 years at Ballymena Academy, becoming Head of Physics and eventually one of three vice principals.
Through the summer months James was very involved with the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, at first marking O- and A-level papers and ending up in a senior position helping design physics exams.
He was also involved in his local community.
At the Loup, in his teenage years, he was a goalkeeper for the Gaelic football team.
In Ballymena, with his wife Valerie, it was badminton with the Academy and at All Saints.
They also enjoyed socialising and dancing and James was known for his quiet wit and twinkle in his eye.
He never drank or smoked and was a long-time pioneer, being awarded the Fr Cullen Memorial Medal for 60 years of membership.
He and Valerie, from Barrow-In-Furness in England, were married in 1963 and it is a testament to the strength, dedication and love of that union how Valerie tended to James through his illness with Parkinson’s, a frustrating disease for such an intelligent man.
James was immensely proud of their three sons, David, Colin and Paul, encouraging them, having fun with them and supporting them through all the highs and lows of life. He was also the very proud grandfather of Tallulah and Violet.
James McGuckin died aged 82 on April 9. He made his mark on many, many people, both as a teacher and as a family man, and he will be sadly missed but fondly remembered by us all.
He is survived by his wife, his sons and their partners, his granddaughters, and his brothers Christy and Bernard and sisters Margaret Bradley, Josephine Nicholl, Brigid McCloskey and Marie Hegarty.
