Obituary of Bobby Wayne Quillen

August 25, 1942 – August 18, 2019

Bobby Quillen.  Age 76 of Southgate.

Beloved husband of Gail. Loving father of Steve (Glenda), Gina and the late Timmy. Dear brother of Paulette (Johnny) Atkinson and J.B. Quillen. Dear uncle of Tammy (Doug) Watson and many other nieces and nephews. Also survived by sister in law, Gin Quillen and brother in law, Elmo Campbell. Preceded in death by parents, Albert and Martha Quillen; brothers, Harold and Billy Quillen and sister, Linda Campbell.

Family Tribute

Heaven gained another Angel.

Bobby Wayne Quillen was one of the best. He was one of the sweetest and nicest, kind-hearted people you would ever meet. He was one of the greats. He was a loving husband to Gail, a wonderful father to Timmy, Steve, and Gina. A brother to JB, Billy Harold, Linda and Paulette. A brother-in-law to Beth, Wanda, Jean, and Tom. He was a caring uncle to all of his nieces and nephews, a friend to a lot to people, and to some — a superhero. But to me, he was the best father-in-law that anyone could wish for.

Bobby was born and raised in Tennessee to Albert and Edna Quillen. That is where he joined the Army Reserve. It was also in Tennessee that he met the love of his life, Gail. In May of 1961,  they married and a few years later, Bobby and Gail moved to Michigan. Bobby started working at Ford Motor Company in 1966 until his retirement. Bobby and Gail were married for 58 years and 3 months. Bobby was the type of person that never met a stranger. He loved everyone. Bobby and Gail were always willing to help anyone, anytime, day or night.

The first time I ever met Bobby was almost 30 years ago, long before Steve and I were together. I was at the neighbors of Gail and Bobby’s two doors down and my car would not start. I had the hood up and Bobby saw that. He came down the walk and said: “Young lady, are you having a problem with your car?” And then he said, “Let me see if I can fix that for you.” After almost two hours, he had it running like new. He wouldn’t take any money from me for his time. He just said, “Keep it, young lady, you might need that.” He didn’t see a stranger, all he saw was someone needing help.

Many years later, I was lucky enough and honored to call Bobby and Gail my in-laws. Bobby loved to watch TV; the louder the better! He loved science fiction movies. He also loved to work on lawnmowers and snow blowers. He would fix them and get them running like new. He collected flashlights, any size big or small. Bobby wasn’t a drinker and I never heard a cuss word ever come out of his mouth. He drank coffee from morning until night, always straight black. Bobby smoked for over 50 years up until a few years ago. Bobby was always a happy go lucky person and a great dad. Up until a couple of years ago, Bobby and Gail would go down south and visit the family and stay for weeks at a time. But they would always call Steve to

When Bobby went to the hospital in July, I asked him what he would like me to cook for him when he gets home. He said mostaccioli and to bake him some brownies. I said, “Okay when you come home,  I will make them for you.” When he came home the first time, he was only home for a few hours, so I didn’t get a chance to do it. The next morning, he returned back to the hospital. When he was in the hospital the second time, he started feeling better. He said, “Young lady, what about those brownies?” So I made him some. Steve took them and gave them to his dad at the hospital. I talked to him on the phone and he said: “Thank you, young lady, those were good.”

From the beginning to the end, Bobby still always called me young lady, even after many years of being in the family and married to Steve for 21 years. So the next time I hear someone say “young lady”, I will think of his sweet voice in the back of my head calling me a young lady.

Fly high sweet one, we will be looking for you in the clouds and the stars in the sky. This isn’t goodbye, it’s just until we meet again. You might be gone, but you are always in our hearts. You will be deeply missed. But you will never be forgotten.