Eve Quitslund, 90, died March 20 at her home on Sunrise Drive.
She was born Eva May Kitchel in Cass County, Ind., on Oct. 2, 1914, the fifth of nine children of Edgar and Mary (Bechtelheimer) Kitchel. She grew up on a small farm, knowing all 40 of her first cousins.
After high school, she went to stay with an aunt in Washington, D.C., where she attended secretarial school, then found a job in a typing pool at the Department of Agriculture.
There she met Ford Quitslund, a native of Bainbridge Island. They were married in Indiana on Sept. 12, 1937, and settled in Arlington, Va.
Sons Jon and James were born in Washington, D.C., and Dana in Presque Isle, Maine.
In 1945, the end of World War II made it possible to move the family to Bainbridge Island. A fourth son, Gary, was born in Winslow.
Eve designed the floor plan of their new home, completed in 1947 on waterfront property settled by Ford’s grandparents.
She later designed a small house near the water below their original home; they moved to the beach house in 1964, modifying it to provide for visiting family, other guests and their own comfort as they grew older.
Her door was always open; she welcomed any and all guests with warmth and incomparable baking.
While raising four sons, she was deeply involved in the community. She served as president of the Parent Teacher Association (also as an officer of the state PTA), and served in many capacities as a member of Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church.
She helped found the Bainbridge library and was active in Music and Arts, the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Guild and Girl Scouts.
After Ford’s retirement, Eve joined Perlatti Real Estate, where she sold homes for 18 years and built friendships with many of her clients. Her earnings helped her indulge a love of travel, often combined with seeing her siblings.
She is survived by sons (and daughters-in-law) Jon (Toby), James (Sabine), Dana (Nancy) and Gary (Linda Whitehead), all of Bainbridge Island; her brother Arthur Kitchel of West Lafayette, Ind.; her sister Alice Study of Oxford, Ohio; six grandchildren (Jesse, Beth, Philip, Gabriel, Sarah and Signe) and one great-grandchild (Garey). Her husband Ford preceded her in death in 2003.
A memorial service at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church is scheduled for 1 p. m. April 14.
Remembrances can be made to the scholarship fund of Bainbridge Music and Arts (P.O. Box 10011, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110) or Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church (P.O. Box 131, Rolling Bay, WA 98161).
Arrangements were by Kass Funeral Home.
