PORT ANGELES — In her 67 years of teaching, Joan Quigley encouraged each of her students to look beyond those notes on the page.
Joan Quigley (courtesy of the Quigley family)
“You want to give a child something they could love,” her daughter, Kristin Quigley Brye, remembers as her mother’s focus. This educator — known always as Mrs. Quigley — believed in sharing something that would enhance her students’ lives forever.
That something was music, Brye said.
Quigley died April 5 at the age of 90 from complications following a stent procedure. She left behind her four daughters and hundreds of students who learned with her about the piano and about life.
“She met her students where they were, and they went from there,” said Brye, also a music teacher and pianist, both in her private studio and at Peninsula College.
Quigley — nee McNally — was a daughter of Port Angeles, who grew up in Joyce. She studied at Eastern Washington University and, soon after World War II ended, found a job teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in Geraldine, Mont.
When she went to the bank to cash her first paycheck, the man behind the counter was Bruce Quigley, her future husband. Their 1953 wedding was at the church that is now First Presbyterian in Port Angeles; back then it was Holy Trinity Lutheran. Bruce died a decade ago, after nearly 60 years of marriage.
After teaching in Montana, Quigley went on to work in Forks and Neah Bay, and then opened her piano studio for children as young as 3. In springtime and at Christmas, she held recitals at First Presbyterian, until her retirement, at age 89, in December 2019.
Brye hesitated to answer a question about her mother’s favorite composers.
“That’s a toughie. She embraced music as a whole,” her daughter said.
“She loved Chopin. She loved Mozart,” and so many others.
“As long as it was played well and with passion, she was into it.”
Quigley pursued her own learning with zeal, Brye added; she was a certified Suzuki instructor, and specialized in the youngest kids.
“If you wanted your little one to get a good start, you sent her to Joan Quigley,” who at times had three dozen students in her care, and always a waiting list.
Elizabeth Watkins of Port Angeles, who will graduate this year with a music degree from Central Washington University, was about to turn 4 when she began studying with Mrs. Quigley.
Right away, Watkins said, her piano teacher taught her about collaboration.
“She always encouraged us to play music with our peers,” building duets and trios into every recital. The ability to play with other musicians, to make music in community, “has been something I am very grateful for. It has brought many people that I love into my life,” Watkins added.
“She will always inspire me as a musician and as a human being.”
Amy McIntyre of Port Angeles’ daughter Imogen was also a student of Mrs. Quigley’s from age 5 to 12.
“She was the epitome of grace and generosity, welcoming us into her comfortable studio, just as we were,” McIntyre recalled, “even if the material had not been practiced as she hoped, and showed great interest in our lives and activities.
“We took off our shoes, washed our hands, put on our best manners, and settled in for 30 minutes of patient teaching in an unhurried world, always followed by a sticker and a cookie.”
Beyond her profession as an educator, “she was a champion baker,” Brye noted. Her pies were prized in fundraisers, bringing in serious sums.
A few years ago, Quigley found out about The Answer for Youth (TAFY), the Port Angeles organization serving homeless and at-risk teenagers and young adults.
“She decided to bring them cookies every Friday. And she was there every Friday without fail, with cookies,” including the Friday before she died, Brye said.
Quigley had a deep faith, and loved hymns; she also lived her life with a strong connection to her community. Her grandparents were homesteaders near Joyce, and when Quigley was born in 1930, babies were delivered at the hospital where the Olympic Peninsula YMCA is now.
She served on the Clallam County Heritage Advisory Committee and on the Monday Musicale board, Brye added.
To Brye and to her sisters Kari, Lori and Bobbi, “she was a wonderful mom,” Brye said.
A simple graveside service will be held later this month, and a celebration of life this summer if and when more of Mrs. Quigley’s students and their families can attend.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladaily news.com.
