Mary Jane Quigley

 Not only did I enjoy our time together On February 28, 2019 Mary Jane Quigley was diagnosed with cancer. In the weeks prior to that she was being treated for a stiff neck and a pain in her left leg. As a diagnostic tool blood tests and X-rays were performed and revealed no problem. Weeks later the pain intensified so MJ and I went to Hillcrest Emergency Room for pain management. Testing in the ER revealed she had metastasized lung cancer. Thirty-seven days later, on April 5, 2019 at 7:03 PM Mary Jane Quigley died at the Cleveland Clinic Hospice Care in Fairlawn, Ohio. MJ was born April 25, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio at Mt. Sinai Hospital. She would have lived 72 years in just a few short weeks. Mary Jane was preceded in death by her Mother Frances (Hondz) Winiski, her Father Alex Winiski, both of Cleveland Heights, Ohio and her sister USN Lt Cmdr. Betty Jean Winiski of Jacksonville, Florida. Mary Jane and her sister Betty Jean were born 3 years apart to the day. MJ was the older of the two. Friends and family affectionately referred to them as the Polish twins. She was the wife of Glen Quigley of Newbury, Ohio, mother to Kimberly Schwartz of Newbury, Ohio, Tracey Fronk of Montville, Ohio and Eric Quigley of Newbury , Ohio. She was the grandmother to Ryan Quigley, Siri Schwartz, and Aaron Schwartz of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Zach and Brooke Fronk of Montville, Ohio. MJ grew up in the historic Little Italy Community of Cleveland. She attended Murray Hill School where she excelled as a student and classmate, she was elected class treasurer and student banker many times. MJ loved to swim so after school she spent countless hours at the nearby Alta House Community Center pool perfecting her diving skills and achieving competitive lap times. This is where her lifetime love of water began. MJ was moved by the constant motion of water, the gentle sound which created peaceful feeling. While Glen and MJ lived in Cleveland Heights they both became certified SCUBA Divers. At her home in Newbury she enjoyed sitting on her back porch watching the birds drink and bathe that were attracted to the playful sound of her backyard fishpond. Her favorite vacation spots always included time in the water. She visited the beaches and swam in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Keys, Thousand Islands, St. Lawrence Seaway, Erie Canal, the Great Lakes and ventured several times white water rafting in West Virginia and Pennsylvania She was a standout in the close-knit community as she ran wherever she was headed. While she was Mary Jane Winiski, she was affectionately known by many of the older Italian residents as Whisky Jane. MJ’s family home was in University Circle on the present site of the Case Western Reserve Dental School. Her Mom owned a double and to help make ends meet she rented rooms to university students. MJ grew up in a diverse world of international students - going frequently to the art museum where she developed a lifelong love of the impressionists’. She was fascinated by the artist’s ability to bend and create movement of color and light. When she graduated from elementary school she then attended the Andrews School for Girls in Mentor, Ohio. She excelled at both academics and sports. She was a straight A student who was elected the class president for 2 terms. As an ever-present offensive high scoring forward and a fearless defender, she served 4 years as the captain of both the basketball and field hockey teams. Both her teammates and opponents respected her understanding of the game, her vision to see the whole court and her finely tuned game skills. The term was yet to be coined but she always showed up with her game face. There was little doubt who the team leader was which was a trait she exhibited both on and off the field of play. She had an easy way of approaching her Andrew’s years. She was an avid reader who enjoyed history, non-fiction and art. MJ’s many natural talents propelled her to set the bar of excellence in all she did. While there she lived on campus during the school year visiting home for Sunday dinners. She shared a house with other girls and a house mother. Many of her classmates were students from all over the world. She attended 4 years learning and experiencing art, culture, academics and sports, creating memories that would last a lifetime. Mary Jane began riding the unicycle at the age of 3. She mastered all heights of bikes, juggling, one foot riding propelling the bike by the tire instead of the pedals. She had an incredible sense of balance allowing her to accomplish movement well beyond her years. In the early days of local TV productions MJ was the ongoing opening act on a regular Sunday talent show. Here she caught the eye of a circus scout who asked her to audition for an existing circus unicycle act. She won the part but her mother wanted and choose a more traditional path for her future. MJ continued to ride. She taught Glen to do the same and together they continued the tradition of riding in the Circle area along the Severance Hall wall, around the East Blvd Lagoon and the steps of the Cleveland Art Museum. In the mid-sixties, St. Helen’s Father Moran, somehow learned of MJ’s dad, her sister Betty and her ever presence as they rode their unicycles around University Circle’s Severance Hall and Cleveland’s Art Museum. Father Moran was trying to get a school unicycle team started and somehow, he learned heard of their unicycle exploits so he invited them to the church to show the students some home movies of her Dad, MJ, and sister Betty riding their bikes all around University Circle. This helped motivate the St Helen’s students to learn how to ride which began their long history which continues to this day. This was not her only early Newbury connection. As a child, living on Cummington Road in Cleveland MJ’s neighbor would bring her girls and MJ to visit the Oceana Wave Pool on Music Street. This was just across the from Punderson State Park on Music Street. Little did she know that years later she would live within walking distance of that very park. Upon high school graduation MJ worked for the Cleveland Port Authority before taking jobs in the medical and legal fields. She was a trusted medical assistant working for an ear, nose and throat specialist before taking a job as a legal secretary at one of Cleveland’s top law firms. From there she went on to the Case Western Reserve University Dental School where she was a private secretary to a university professor. When MJ and Glen moved to Music Street. The son of her former employer lived just two doors away on Music Street. When her husband Glen and she started their family, MJ worked part-time at Mount Sinai Hospital, (her birth place) in the office of Nursing Services. She was responsible for scheduling nursing staff to cover all the hospital needs. In 1990, Glen and MJ opened Quigley’s Service (a service station/towing company) in Cleveland Heights. MJ worked side by side as a key part of the business, managing all of the daily business details, dispatching, customer interaction, cashier and record keeping. She could answer two phones, dispatch multiple tow trucks, collect gas sale money all while ordering repair parts; always with a smile and sweet voice. MJ and Glen were not only life partners, but worked as business partners growing their business for 18 years before deciding to sell their location. MJ enjoyed her family, gardening, star gazing, and the friendship of many. She loved her dogs, Emmie and Cue and it wasn’t unusual for her to make them eggs for breakfast. Often MJ would lie out under the night sky, studying the planet movements and viewing the International Space Station and other orbiting objects. She always knew the optimum time, elevation and sky for best viewing. Her vocabulary made her a formable Scrabble player, word games were easily challenged. MJ volunteered delivering Meals on Wheels to the elderly, volunteered in her children’s classrooms and was the Geauga County Girl Scout Cookie Chair for many years. She was ever present during the Geauga County 4H Horse Shows and Geauga County Fair where she volunteered in the 4H Food Booth. She multi tasked - cooking, order taking and running herd on all of the 4H kids. If you wanted to know the whereabouts of any, MJ knew where to find them. MJ and Glen were teenage sweethearts who shared 55 year of love, life and family. She and Glen were everything to each other. She was Glen’s love, his reason and his life-force. In their 55 years they were separated by distance for only a handful of days. In 1998, there was a proposed asphalt plant in Newbury. MJ was on the front lines helping to organize a community effort to block the industrialization of the town she loved. She was Glen’s motivation for entering the political arena. Together they forever changed Newbury’s landscape, most notably helping Glen to establish the Newbury Township Veterans Memorial Park and prohibiting smokestack industries. For years, she worked quietly as an advocate for women’s rights, equal education, fair housing and affordable health care. She was a humanist who believed that all benefited by respecting the individual and that the human condition was improved by treating others as you would like to be treated. A simple, but yet achievable philosophy. MJ’s put the needs of her children before her own. She believed that the “kids” should be given every opportunity to explore new arenas and test the boundaries of their imagination. She was proud of each for their individual successes. All three-graduated from college, they are in long term permanent relationships as they carry on her legacy as caring loving adults. MJ had a highly-developed sense of humor, she understood human nature and was sensitive to other’s needs. Her language was always nuanced, never arrogant. She never had to prove her worth as it was evident in her action. She made a difference in the lives of those she loved. She believed that all lives matter. Each and every one of us is unique and has an interesting life with experiences only known by those who love them. MJ was no exception. She was who she needed to be as the world changed, she met the challenges of life knowing that any obstacle could be overcome with attitude, commitment and passion. She lived, she loved and was loved, she made a difference in the world around her, she mattered. In order to understand the depth of my love I have to borrow Raoul’s words to Christine in the Phantom of the Opera. “No more talk of darkness Forget these wide-eyed fears I'm here, nothing can harm you My words will warm and calm you Let me be your freedom Let daylight dry your tears I'm here, with you, beside you To guard you and to guide you Say you love me every waking moment Turn my head with talk of summertime Say you need me with you now and for always Promise me that all you say is true That's all I ask of you Let me be your shelter Let me be your light You're safe, no one will find you Your fears are far behind you All I want is freedom A world with no more night And you, always beside me To hold me and to hide me Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime Let me lead you from your solitude Say you need me with you, here beside you Anywhere you go, let me go too Christine, that's all I ask of you Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime Say the word and I will follow you Share each day with me Each night, each morning Say you love me! You know I do Anywhere you go, let me go to Love me, that's all I ask of you” She made me more than I was. She was my “shelter my light”, I’ll forever love her.

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