Obituary of Phyllis Quigley

Phyllis went peacefully to be with her Lord whom she loved beyond measure on November 21, 2014 in Eugene, OR. She was born on January 17, 1917 in Portland, OR, the second daughter of Philip and Alyce Buslach. Her early years were spent on her parents homestead in Cape Horn, WA. Later her parents became dairy farmers in Tillamook, OR where Phyllis was active in 4-H. Cows became a life long favorite and no cow ever went unnoticed when she saw one. Gardening was a constant in her life and flowers in bloom always gave her awe. When her older sister, Mignon, graduated from Tillamook High School, their parents moved to Corvallis so that their two daughters could eventually attend college while still living at home. It was in Corvallis that Phyllis completed high school and eventually met the love of her life, Frank V. (Jack) Quigley.Phyllis and her sister Mignon had a double wedding at their parent’s home in Corvallis in 1935. As newlyweds Jack and Phyllis attended Oregon State College for a brief time where Phyllis majored in nursing and became a member of the Alpha Tau Delta honor society. Her mother-in-law taught her how to drive in a 1929 Model A Ford and she continued to fearlessly drive anything with four wheels. During WW II, Phyllis was a taxi driver chauffeuring soldiers back and forth to nearby Camp Adair Army Base. All three of her children, Louise, Lois and Don, were born during her years in Corvallis. She went on to work in many fields: logging, where she was a “Whistle Punk”; construction, where she managed a fleet of five dump trucks; commercial fishing, as owner and manager of Quigley’s Seafood in Florence, OR. She cooked, shelled, and sold an average of 1,000 pounds a week of Dungeness crab at her little pink stand on Highway 101. Her other delicacy, smoked salmon, became well known up and down the Oregon coast. When she and Jack eventually settled in Eugene, OR, she worked for many years at Porter Health Foods becoming an expert on vitamins and supplements. However, none of these occupations interested her as much as her tireless work in Al-Anon, an organization within Alcoholics Anonymous that offers hope and help to the families and friends of alcoholics. Phyllis was the Oregon delegate at the annual National Al-Anon Conference in New York City for four years. She was a member of the Lane County Council on Alcoholism, visited the state penitentiary to speak about Al-Anon, and worked with the court referral program for those being tried for offenses due to alcoholism. In 1974, she traveled to London, England to speak about Al-Anon at a conference organized by the US Air Force Chaplaincy. She was recognized in 1997 by the Willamette Family Treatment Services for service in behalf of the women and children they serve. As a widow, she moved into Churchill Retirement Home and immediately organized a weekly Al-Anon meeting to take place in that facility, which is still operating today.Phyllis is survived by her three children: Louise and husband Jim. Lois and husband Mo, and Don and wife, Kik, nine grandchildren, seven great-children, and two great-great-grandchildren.Funeral arrangements are being handled by Musgrove Family Mortuary. Phyllis’s memorial service will be at West lawn Memorial Funeral Home, 225 S. Danebo Ave., Eugene, OR. 97402 on what would have been Phyllis’s 98th birthday, Saturday, January 17, 2015 at 2:00pm. Donations in her name may be made to Willamette Family Treatment Services, 686 Cheshire Ave., Eugene, OR 97402.