Susanne “Susie” Louise Quigley Grulke

GRULKE, QUIGLEY, WERKER

Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 1/27/2025 at 09:28:34

Susanne “Susie” Louise Quigley Grulke, 78, died Jan. 19 in her Iowa City home after a long illness. Her body was donated to the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Survivors include her husband, Lynn; son, Mark “Gunner,” and grandchild, Lance, of Iowa City; daughter, Anna (Dave Werker), of Iowa City; brothers, Tom, and Jim, both of Spokane, Washington; sister, Mary, of Portland, Oregon; and many nieces and nephews.

Susie was born in Des Moines on Nov. 7, 1946, to Helen and James Quigley and raised there with four siblings. After graduating from St. Joseph Academy in 1964 she entered the University of Iowa. Susie loved the arts and was an active participant in the Des Moines Community Theater, including a role as the wicked witch of the west in the “Wizard of Oz.” While initially interested in being a drama major, her love of literature and history took priority. Her curiosity made her a lifelong learner. Susie met Lynn in an Earth science class and was encouraged to go out with him by a mutual friend who was in marching band with him. They hit it off, marrying in February 1968 and raising two kids together.

Susie was active in politics from an early age, taking her siblings canvassing for John F. Kennedy in 1960. With the intention of becoming the first woman president, she taught her siblings not only the names of members of Congress, but also the members of the U.S. Supreme Court, and of world leaders.

Though she didn’t run for president, Susie maintained a keen interest in the political affairs of the day and was not one to shy away from a political discussion, no matter how heated it might be. A lifelong Democrat, she never missed a caucus, and she volunteered for many campaigns. It was not lost on her family that she checked out the day before the current administration was sworn in.

A generous and caring spirit, Susie never hesitated to care for family members, or to take in friends needing a place to stay. Her legendary parties provided food, drink, and lively discussion for many struggling poets and artists. Susie’s commitment to the need for families to access affordable childcare led to her early work at Friendship Daycare Center. She later managed the Iowa City Dance Center, promoting the idea of access to the center for movement classes by children and older adults, which was not a popular idea at the time. Always looking to make art available to everyone, she often suggested themes to Lynn for marching band performances when he was a high school band director in Lone Tree, Iowa. She convinced area poet Dave Morice, aka “Dr. Alphabet,” to write a 100-yard poem at halftime of the Lone Tree Lions’ 1977 homecoming game. She loved to listen to live music and even performed with an avant-garde punk band in the 1970s called the No Band.

Lynn and Susie were bridge players, most frequently with lifelong friends Bill and Karen Stansbery. They frequently had marathon bridge matches. An enthusiastic sports fan, Susie cheered on the Hawkeyes and loved to watch the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, she wore a Lakers back-to-back NBA championships t-shirt from the 1980s until it was paper thin.

Although she lived in the Iowa City area much of her adult life, Susie moved to Harlingen, Texas, in 1985, when Lynn took a teaching job there. She welcomed the warmer winter weather. She and Lynn kept their Iowa City home and spent their summers there, entertaining friends, playing bridge, and hosting a Fourth of July celebration. Everyone was welcomed into their home to enjoy a beverage or two (or more!) and engage in intellectual conversation, and it became a favorite hangout for many. When Lynn retired in 2010, the two moved back to Iowa City permanently and helped raise their grandchild.

Susie kept her sharp mind and curiosity until her death. Although she enjoyed watching TV, she sometimes felt compelled to shout at the TV in disgust. A lifelong subscriber of The New Yorker magazine, she devoured every issue, and her family could rarely best her formidable skills on the game show Jeopardy.

Susie was preceded in death by her parents and sister Pat.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Iowa Public Radio or a charity of choice.

The family will announce an upcoming memorial event.

Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
 

Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen