Obituary of Anita Quinlan
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Iowa City, Iowa
Anita Louise Quinlan, 86, of Iowa City, formerly of Cedar Rapids and West Branch, died Monday, November 30, 2009 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City.
Mass will be at 10:30AM on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in West Branch. Visitation will be 4:00-7:00PM with a rosary at 7:00PM on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at the Henderson-Barker Funeral Home in West Branch. Burial will be in the West Branch Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Iowa City Hospices, the Mercy Hospital Hospice Unit or St. Patrick’s Church in Iowa City or St. Bernadette’s church in West Branch.
Mrs. Quinlan was born Aug. 5, 1923 to Luther and LeEtta (McQuaide) Madden in Tiffin, Iowa. After her mother’s death in 1928, Anita was raised by Ira and Louisa Gray of Tiffin, and she attended Tiffin schools. Anita Madden and John D. Quinlan were married Oct. 14, 1946 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oxford. After living at several farms in the Iowa City and West Branch area, they settled in West Branch to raise their 13 children. She worked in the restaurant industry for many years before opening and operating Anita’s Drive-In restaurant from 1968 to 1973 just a block from their home on Main Street. After her husband retired as postmaster of West Branch, they lived in Cedar Rapids for several years before moving back to Iowa City.
She was preceded in death by her husband, and by her brothers (Howard and Leroy) and sisters (Betty and Lucille). She is survived by her 13 children, 18 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. In her final days, she was with all of her children and many of their family members: Mary Doyle of Cedar Rapids, Jo of Cedar Rapids, Patricia of Chicago, Jeanne Carter of Vancouver WA, Jim of Indianapolis, Judy Jasper of East Palo Alto CA, Tom of Mt. Prospect IL, Coleen of Iowa City, Mike of West Branch, Johnita of West Branch, Maureen Krob of Solon, D.J. of Iowa City, and David of West Branch.