NANCY QUINLAN

QUINLAN, NANCY, (IVES) beloved mother and grandmother, died peacefully in the early hours of Jan. 2, surrounded by her family. She was 76. She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Arther Quinlan, a former Massachusetts state trooper; her parents, Richard King Ives and Ruth Hays Ives; and two brothers. Born in Needham, MA, Nancy graduated from Needham High School and attended Colby College in Maine. She raised her family in Framingham, MA, moved to Dennis in 1978, and spent the last 2O years of her life in Florida, moving in 1997 to Oviedo, where she managed to keep close tabs on her revered Boston sports teams, rarely missing a Red Sox, Celtics or Patriots game. She was a lifelong homemaker, and a fine one, but that would be understating and oversimplifying her life's mission. She filled a far larger role as CEO/President of Support Systems for the Quinlan Co., a small but thriving family of four daughters; and six grandchildren. In that position, she filled numerous roles and ran many departments. In helping oversee the Quinlan Co., Nancy had many specialties, among them repairing skinned knees, lifting sunken spirits, operating the car pool, instilling proper King's English and grammar ('supper,' not 'dinner'), and dispensing years of sage life advice. Her four loving daughters - Anne Smith of Tomball, TX, Joan DeMattos of Brewster, MA, Sally Quinlan of Santa Barbara, CA, and Jane Babineau of Oviedo, FL, shared a unique and caring bond: Each one was her mom's best friend. A mother can achieve no greater legacy. In her later years, Nancy expanded her role to devote herself as an adored Gamma to her six grandchildren in Texas and Florida: Christine Smith, her diligent schoolteacher and trusted listener; Jackie Smith, her talented new-generation golfer; Jenny Smith, her energetic beauty queen; Keith and Derek Bisgounis, the boys she'd never had, who were her distinguished baseball players and daily playful razzers; and her youngest, Luke Babineau, or 'Lukie,' who she affectionately called "my sweet little boy." She leaves her family with many great scenes and memories: Sitting under an umbrella on a Cape Cod beach; cradling newborn grandchildren; serving as master kids' swim instructor; eyeing a giant sundae at Friendly's; watching her daughter Sally compete on golf's biggest stage, the LPGA; celebrating the long-awaited first Patriots' Super Bowl victory and ending an 86-year Red Sox drought with husband Arthur; cheering voraciously in a lawn chair behind home plate at many baseball parks; and presiding over so many warm living-room talks. Friends of the family are invited to a memorial celebration of Nancy's rich life Jan. 4, at 6 p.m. at Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home's Oviedo Chapel, 501 E. Mitchell Hammock Rd. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to Hospice of the Comforter, 480 W. Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs, FL, 32714. "God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers."