Judith Faye Quinn

Judith Faye Quinn, 67, Overland Park, Kansas, died Saturday, May 22, 2010, doing what she was most passionate about, caring for her patients at her CVS MinuteClinic.

She was born November 2, 1942, to Virtus William Suhr and Dorothy Josephine Mooney Suhr in Burbank, California. She, her sister Jean, and their mother Dorothy moved back to Nebraska in 1944. Their father Virtus joined them soon after the war and the family would live in towns across Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois before Judith graduated from high school in 1960. She returned to Ames, Iowa, to complete a Bachelor of Science in Applied Art at Iowa State University. After graduating, she taught in a small Iowa school system before marrying and moving to northwest Ohio. The growing family soon moved near Chicago, Illinois, where they lived for over a decade, then near Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they lived for several years, before settling in northeast Ohio where Judith lived across several towns and cities over the next two decades.

While in Ohio, Judith worked as a school teacher, an advocate for the arts, a researcher, and as a nurse and nurse practitioner. She completed a Master of Public Administration degree at Cleveland State University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and Doctorate in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2003, before finally reaching Overland Park, Kansas in 2005.

The final years of Judith's life were by far her happiest. After many years of struggle as a single mother, she completed her education and proudly watched all of her sons become successful men. She gratefully spent her days helping her patients at her CVS MinuteClinic, and then returned each night to the most peaceful and beautiful home she had ever known. She loved tending her garden and watching the ducks and geese at play on the lake behind the house.

She never stopped dreaming big dreams. Her youngest son James brought her to explore New York City just the month before her death. She scampered all around the little island eating, walking, riding the subways, and exploring every nook and cranny. She said it made her feel alive. She was happy and she decided it was time for her to try the city life herself, at the ripe young age of 67. The last weeks of her life were spent studying and organizing to make this new dream happen. And, indeed, she was well on her way, chasing her dreams with passion through to the end.

Survivors include her sons, James Quinn of Overland Park, John Quinn (Patricia) of Edwardsville, Illinois, and Timothy Quinn (Aida) of Duluth, Minnesota; sister, Jean Klute (Dennis) of Ames, Iowa; four granddaughters, one grandson, and three nephews.

The family suggests memorial contributions to Kiva, Loans that Change Lives at http://www.kiva.org/team/judith_quinn

Memorial Visitation

Friends may call from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee.