Virginia Irvine Quirey, of Patriots Colony Retirement Center of Williamsburg, joined her late husband, Brig. Gen. William O. Quirey in death on June 26, 2014. She was 90.
She also reunites with her late parents, Maj. Gen. Willard W. Irvine and Lillian Scott Irvine; sisters, Diana Weir and Marguerite Irvine; and sister-in-law, Sarah Kathryne Quirey Breed.
She is survived by her two children, William O. Quirey, Jr. and Marguerite H. Quirey; grandsons, Alexander E. Kennedy, Clayton D. Kennedy and Taylor H. Kennedy; granddaughter, Gaelyn M. Quirey; and two great-grandchildren, Kai X. Kennedy and Keeley J. Kennedy.
Mrs. Quirey adored her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was particularly fond of her children’s spouses, Bethany J. Geldmaker and Gregory E. Kennedy, both of whom she took to lunch before their weddings to ask, “Are you sure you want to do this?” She was also delighted that her three grandsons found exceptional and loving partners, Kristen Kennedy, Venus Reyes and Allison Sullivan, although, interestingly, she did not see a need to counsel them in the same way she did her own children’s spouses.
Her mother and father had deep roots in Georgia, but upon marriage her parents set out together for a U.S. Army life partnership. Mrs. Quirey was born April 22, 1924, at Fortress Monroe. While her father’s tours of duty took the family to many captivating locations, including Panama, Massachusetts, San Francisco, China, Corregidor, Kansas and Washington, her fondest childhood memories were of their vacations into the magnificent National Parks of the United States.
In May of 1937, as a young junior high student in San Francisco, she was selected to be among those who christened the just completed Golden Gate Bridge. Mrs. Quirey, often known by her girlfriends as “Ginny,” graduated from Gunston Hall in Washington and retained many of those high school friendships over the years, including Margaret Truman who, a few years later, hosted those friends for parties at the White House.
A graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. (where, coincidentally, her grandson, Alexander, works), she eagerly set out on her own, working as a public relations officer for Eastern Airlines in Washington before moving to Guam at her parents’ request to help with her father’s new command position. There she met a young Army officer, William O. Quirey. A lovely intimate wedding in the Fort Bliss chapel in El Paso, Texas followed their courtship in Guam.
Mrs. Quirey began her new career with a deep awareness of what it is to be a supportive and exceptional Army wife and she fulfilled that role over the entirety of her husband’s career, but did it in a way that allowed her to maintain, at least subtly, a degree of independence. She accompanied her husband to several postings in Washington, where Bill, Jr., was born and to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. where Marguerite was born.
They built their family life in a variety of locations from Colorado Springs, Colo. to Fort Banks, Mass., from Munich and Stuttgart, Germany to Izmir, Turkey. While her husband served two tours in Vietnam, she and her children resided in Coronado, Calif. near her own parents’ home of retirement where she played a key role in a support group for military spouses whose husbands were also serving in the Vietnam Theater.
Her children remember her deep and positive involvement nurturing their interests in music, arts and nature. Her grandchildren appreciated her sense of humor and “joie de vivre.” After a 30-year period of military life, Mrs. Quirey and her husband retired to Florida, living another 30 years in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. In retirement she was quite active, but her most cherished roles were as an engaged and caring tutor for elementary school students and as an usher for the historic Asolo Repertory Theatre.
During summers Mrs. Quirey and her husband would often drive to the mountains of North Carolina and spend a few months reading and walking together. These were years “Granny” and “Granddad Q.” excitedly shared with their beloved grandchildren.
Mrs. Quirey felt profound appreciation for the caring and thoughtful staff and residents of her final home of 15 years, Patriots Colony Retirement Center of Williamsburg. She frequently expressed her eternal thankfulness for the decision that she and her husband made to join the Patriots Colony community of individuals who understood well the lifetime she had led as an Army daughter, wife and mother.
Her friend and dedicated comfort keepers care-person, Mary Beddard, shared important times and provided a compassionate sense of security and love as Mrs. Quirey began to close in on her final years.
A celebration of life service will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 3, 2014, at the Patriots Colony Grand Hall. At a time to be announced in the future, Mrs. Quirey will be buried with her husband at Arlington National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, a donation in memory of Mrs. Quirey may be made to one of her treasured interests: Friends of Dance at UMW, UMW Foundation, Jepson Alumni Center, 1119 Hanover Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 or Stephens College (Soccer Fund), 1200 East Broadway, Box No. 2035, Columbia, MO 65215.
Please leave online condolences for the family at Bucktrout Funeral Home.
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