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In Memory of
Mary Colleen
Healy (Quirk)
Healy (Quirk)
1936 - 2017
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Gill Brothers Minneapolis Funeral Home
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Obituary for Mary Colleen Healy (Quirk)
Mary Colleen Quirk Healy, age 81, longtime Minneapolis resident, died peacefully on Thursday evening, December 7th, 2017 at Breck Homes, Bloomington. Colleen was preceded in death by her daughter, Elizabeth Ann “Liz” (1959-1980), her parents, Teresa Elizabeth McMahon and William Martin Quirk, and siblings Jack, Maureen Schmidt and Kathleen Shannon as well as in-laws David Shannon, Jack Schmidt, Tom Pahl and Shirley Quirk.
Colleen was born March 11th, 1936 in St. Paul, the seventh of eleven children. She attended St. Mark’s Catholic School, St. Joseph’s Academy (1954) and St. Catherine University (1958). She met Robert “Bob” Healy on a blind date her senior year of high school when he was a freshman at the University of St. Thomas.They never looked back, dating exclusively through their college graduations. When Bob was drafted by the U.S. Army and sent to Germany in 1958, Colleen joined him. They married there thatyear and returned to the U.S. two years later with their first daughter.
The couple settled in Minneapolis and had four more daughters. While raising their family, Colleen worked as a substitute teacher, volunteered for the League of Women Voters, led Great Books discussionsand completed an MA in Education at the U of MN. She and Bob were regular volunteers at their local parish, the Church of the Annunciation. For more than a decade, Colleen also enjoyed working on its administrative staff.
Colleen had generosity of spirit and open-minded intelligence. She was a voracious reader and intrepid traveler. Even while battling Alzheimer’sDisease, Colleen’s core values shone through: fairness, justice, intellectual curiosity and practical efficiency. To the end she displayed aquick wit and a practical nature. She also never stopped walking. Her caregivers at Breck Homes called her the “trekker” because she was eager to keep moving until the very end.
Colleen is survived by herdevoted husband of nearly sixty years, Robert “Bob” Healy, four of her five daughters: Katherine “Kit” (Rick Kahlow), Sheila (Brian) Berube, Mary and Ann Marie (Bryan Mealer), grandchildren, John, Elizabeth “Ellie” and Katherine “Kitty” Berube, and Nolan, Evelyn “Evvie” and Francis “Franny” Mealer. She also is survived by siblings Bill Quirk, Jim Quirk, Betty Kunik, Quent (Tom) Quirk, Pat Pahl, Bob Quirk and Sharon Walbran, and their spouses, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral Mass Saturday, December 16, 11 AM at Church of the Annunciation, 509 W 54th St, Mpls, with visitation starting at 10 AM. There also will be a visitation Friday, December 15, 5 -7 PM at Gill Brothers Funeral Home, 5801 Lyndale Ave So, Mpls.
Special thanks to Jenny Morgan and her caring staff at Breck Homes, Bloomington, who consistently ensured Mom’s comfort and dignity in her final months.
No flowers please. Donations preferred to Annunciation School or St. Catherine University.
www.GILLBROTHERS.com
Minneapolis 612-861-6088
Colleen was born March 11th, 1936 in St. Paul, the seventh of eleven children. She attended St. Mark’s Catholic School, St. Joseph’s Academy (1954) and St. Catherine University (1958). She met Robert “Bob” Healy on a blind date her senior year of high school when he was a freshman at the University of St. Thomas.They never looked back, dating exclusively through their college graduations. When Bob was drafted by the U.S. Army and sent to Germany in 1958, Colleen joined him. They married there thatyear and returned to the U.S. two years later with their first daughter.
The couple settled in Minneapolis and had four more daughters. While raising their family, Colleen worked as a substitute teacher, volunteered for the League of Women Voters, led Great Books discussionsand completed an MA in Education at the U of MN. She and Bob were regular volunteers at their local parish, the Church of the Annunciation. For more than a decade, Colleen also enjoyed working on its administrative staff.
Colleen had generosity of spirit and open-minded intelligence. She was a voracious reader and intrepid traveler. Even while battling Alzheimer’sDisease, Colleen’s core values shone through: fairness, justice, intellectual curiosity and practical efficiency. To the end she displayed aquick wit and a practical nature. She also never stopped walking. Her caregivers at Breck Homes called her the “trekker” because she was eager to keep moving until the very end.
Colleen is survived by herdevoted husband of nearly sixty years, Robert “Bob” Healy, four of her five daughters: Katherine “Kit” (Rick Kahlow), Sheila (Brian) Berube, Mary and Ann Marie (Bryan Mealer), grandchildren, John, Elizabeth “Ellie” and Katherine “Kitty” Berube, and Nolan, Evelyn “Evvie” and Francis “Franny” Mealer. She also is survived by siblings Bill Quirk, Jim Quirk, Betty Kunik, Quent (Tom) Quirk, Pat Pahl, Bob Quirk and Sharon Walbran, and their spouses, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral Mass Saturday, December 16, 11 AM at Church of the Annunciation, 509 W 54th St, Mpls, with visitation starting at 10 AM. There also will be a visitation Friday, December 15, 5 -7 PM at Gill Brothers Funeral Home, 5801 Lyndale Ave So, Mpls.
Special thanks to Jenny Morgan and her caring staff at Breck Homes, Bloomington, who consistently ensured Mom’s comfort and dignity in her final months.
No flowers please. Donations preferred to Annunciation School or St. Catherine University.
www.GILLBROTHERS.com
Minneapolis 612-861-6088
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Minneapolis
MN
55419
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MN
55420
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