Barbara Jane Quinn

Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and sister, Barbara Jane Quinn, passed away peacefully on September 11, 2025, at her home in Bozeman.

Jane was born on June 20, 1943, in Audubon, Iowa, to Walter and Maxine Bauer. She attended country schools in Exira, Iowa, along with her younger brother, Dean, and many cousins and friends. Jane was a self-described farm kid; an enthusiastic and active participant in all things far related, including quilting, 4-H, cooking, sewing, textiles, gardening, and baking. She was a saxophone player and a member of the band. She served as a candy striper and a hospital aide.

Jane attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. It was there she met Bill Quinn. They married at ISU’s Newman Center on June 19, 1965. During Bill’s veterinary school residency at the University of Minnesota, their daughter, Anne, was born in St. Paul in 1966.

Jane and Bill moved to Bozeman in 1968 after Bill accepted a position at Montana’s State Veterinary Laboratory. Jane would often talk about “being dragged West by her man.” Bozeman in the dead of winter was not a welcome sight for this Iowa farm girl. Bozeman did, however, become the place Jane would welcome her second child, Paul, in 1969, and spend the rest of her life.

Jane loved the mountains. She was a member of the local hiking group, BWAGs, an avid and beautiful skier, and a parent volunteer for many skiing and cross country clubs. Jane was involved in Resurrection Parish’s ministry and choir, served on the Gallatin History Museum’s Board of Directors, and on the board at the Bozeman Public Library (Children’s Library), in addition to many civic and community organizations, including her local PEO sisterhood. She was a loyal friend and a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.

Jane was an early and longtime supporter of the Sweet Pea Festival, and had a booth there for many years. She worked at Bozeman’s Paper Goose, in addition to the Patchworks, before starting her own business, Quilting in the Country, in 1991. Quilting was the true artistic passion of Jane’s life, and the shop and classroom at her original homestead and home three miles from Main Street on South 19th Avenue brought her great personal and professional joy, and fulfilled a lifelong dream to own her own cozy quilt shop with attention to every detail.

Quilting in the Country received national attention in 1998 after being named one of the 10 best quilt shops in the United States by Better Homes and Gardens’ American Patchwork and Quilting. Jane’s books include Christmas Cookies to Share with Family & Friends, Soup’s On, Salad Sampler, and Daily Desserts, and Quilting in the Country: Projects and Recipes to Celebrate Life’s Special Moments.

For fifteen years, Jane’s outdoor quilt shows drew more than 5,000 visitors annually, and were a visual and creative treat for those who love to quilt, and all those who enjoy beautiful artwork in a pristine mountain valley. Through Jane’s gift of quilting and her quilting classes, her legacy will truly continue through generations.

Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Maxine Bauer. She is survived by her husband, Bill; brother, Dean (Pam) Bauer, of Exira, Iowa; daughter, Anne (Shaun) Egan, of Denver; son, Paul (Emmy Chuck) of Bozeman; as well as her granddaughter, Quinn, and grandsons Conor, Cory, and Liam Egan, and grandson, Cash Quinn. She also leaves behind her exchange student son, Giovanni Andreini (Rossella Stefanile) of Rome, Italy.

Upon her wishes, Jane was cremated and will be buried at Sunset Hills Cemetery in Bozeman. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, September 26, 2025, 10:00 a.m., at Resurrection Parish, 1725 S. 11th Ave, Bozeman, followed by a reception at the Quinn home beginning at 12:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Jane Quinn Memorial Fund at the Bozeman Public Library, or the Alzheimer’s Association at https://donorservices.alz.org/.

“If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves.”