Nicholas "Nick" Guinan

Nicholas Foley Guinan (66) died in Lubbock, TX on April 2, 2023 after a long battle with complications of adrenomyeloneuropathy.

Nick was born to Vivian Clarke Guinan and Mark Guinan, Sr. on February 18, 1957 in Casper, Wyoming.  The Guinan’s moved several times during Nick’s younger years, but finally settled in Midland, TX where Nick met his future wife, Paula Fisher - - they were married on April 22, 1989 in Midland.  This marriage produced a daughter, Sydney Shea whom they both love and adore.

Nick developed a love of movies while working as a manager for the General Cinema movie chain.  He worked in Midland at both the Midland Park Mall Cinema and Northpark before transferring to Lawrence, KS to manage the Southwind movie theatre.  After one particularly grueling Christmas in Kansas – with Paula away from her family in Texas – Nick vowed to get her back to Texas.  He shortly accepted a manager position with the Hollywood Theatres in Waco, TX.  After about a year in Waco, Nick decided he’d had enough fun managing teenagers and decided upon a career change.  In 2002 he accepted a position in the IT department with Covenant Medical Group in Lubbock, TX.  When Hollywood Theatres had first spoken of going to a computer system for ticket generation Nick was a nervous wreck, having never worked with computers.  However, when he began his position in IT with Covenant he met the challenge head-on; often staying up nights to tear computers completely apart and putting them back together before Paula woke up the next morning. Nick would spend the next 16 years with Covenant and made some life-long friends through the company.  Lastly, Nick worked as a desktop tech with VXI and retired in February 2022.  Nick enjoyed helping various people over the years with their computer needs because it offered him an opportunity to learn, as well as an opportunity to serve others.

Having grown up during the period of the Vietnam war, Nick was rightfully intrigued by it; consuming everything he could get his hands on regarding the subject; books, movies, interviews, documentaries, etc…He’s seen or read them all.  Nick also loved music – having majored in music in college with hopes of going into performance with his French horn.  He also had a great tenor voice and could frequently be heard bursting out in song or whistling.

He also enjoyed hunting with friends and relatives.  One day, he decided he was going to teach their dog, Tonga, how to be a “hunting dog.”  Paula told him before he left the house “if only one of you comes back, it better be Tonga.” Unfortunately, Nick’s first shot of the shotgun sent Tonga running off into the bushes where she refused to return to Nick.  Nick drove home, told Paula the news, and they both went back to the ill-fated spot of the training.  When Tonga heard Paula’s voice, she popped her head up out of the bushes and came running to her.  Needless to say, Tonga did not become a hunting dog.

Nick was preceded in death by his parents and one sister-in-law, Lindsay Guinan.  He is survived by his wife of (almost) 34 years, Paula; his daughter, Sydney; siblings, Mark Guinan of Hornell, New York and G. Guinan of Collingdale, Pennsylvania.

A memorial service for Nick will be held 10:00 A.M., Saturday, April 15, 2023 at the Venue on Broadway (2202 Broadway, Lubbock, TX 79401) with reception to follow.

The family would like to thank the medical professionals who took care of Nick, especially Dr. Kevin May and Dr. Gregory Hannabas.  Both Drs. May and Hannabas brought honor to the medical profession by researching Nick’s disease process in order to learn more about how to appropriately treat him and what to expect with progression.  Simple words cannot express the amount of gratitude we have that they cared enough about Nick to spend that time learning about him.

If you wish to make a donation in Nick’s honor, you might consider:

ALDConnect

35 Village Road, Ste. 100 #353306

Middleton, MA 01949

This organization is focused on improving the quality of life for those living with adrenoleukodystrophy through advocacy, education, research and support.  Nick had a branch of this disease called adrenomyeloneuropathy which slowly, but surely, robbed him of his ability to function independently. It is the family’s belief that others can be helped in their journey with AMN through early education of the disease and a better understanding of expected outcomes through which they can plan.