May 1, 1917 ~ Nov. 4, 2016
Ten year Fallon, Nevada resident, and longtime Chico, California resident Margaret M. Quinley, 99, passed away peacefully in Fallon with family by her side on Friday, November 4th, 2016.
She was born to Earl Farley, and Ella Raymond-Farley in Manchester, Iowa, on May 1st, 1917. She was the third of three children. Margaret’s parents, with their three children in tow, left Iowa during the great depression, and traveled west. They camped on the side of the road as they went, and settled in Yuma, Arizona. Eventually, Margaret landed in Ft. Bragg, California, where her father wrote for, and managed the newspaper.
She moved to Sacramento after high school to attend Sacramento Junior College, where she received her degree. Margaret met her beloved husband, Cecil, on a blind date in 1936 in Sacramento, and they were married in 1939.
She was accepted by Stanford University, as well as The University of California Berkley, where she had intended to attend, before World War II changed her plans. She spent WWII tirelessly working to help collect money for the war effort, as well as with the American Red Cross volunteering in Sacramento area hospitals, while her husband was a prisoner of war in Germany.
They celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary in April 2016, and their lifelong love was the subject of several Valentine’s Day news reports on Reno TV stations, Fallon’s Lahontan Valley News, other print media, and in their memoir book, Forever a True Story of Love and War.
They were members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fallon, and former members of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and Our Divine Savior Catholic Church in Chico. Margaret was active in presenting Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day exhibits in Chico, with her husband, until they moved to Nevada to be near family. Her tireless work continued in Nevada. For her efforts, she received numerous Senatorial and Congressional Proclamations, both in California, and Nevada. Recognition from Ex-Prisoners of War organizations, the Veterans of Foreign War organization, The America Legion, an American Patriotism award, and recognition from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, and former President George W. Bush. She was a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
Cecil preceded her in death in March of this year.
Margaret is survived by her sons David (Janet) in Washington, Dennis in California, and Daniel (Leslie) in Nevada. She has 7 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren.
A funeral mass will be held in Fallon, Nevada, on Saturday, November 19th, 2016, 11:00 A.M. at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, with a reception to follow.
An interment, according to their wishes, will be held for both Margaret and Cecil together at a specific date to be determined later at Glenn Oaks Memorial Park, in Chico, at the Veteran’s Memorial Wall, with a military honor guard. The date will be around what would have been their 78th wedding anniversary.
