Carolyn (Quiwie) Blomgren Magnuson
January 30, 1936
November 19, 2014
Carolyn (Quiwie) Blomgren Magnuson died on Mercer Island on November 19.
She was born in Seattle on January 30, 1936 and lived in the Madrona neighborhood with her parents and three siblings. From an early age she showed a talent for sewing, and after graduating from Garfield High School in Seattle and North Park Junior College in Chicago, she studied fashion design at Parson’s School of Design in New York City. At Parson’s, she won The Gold Thimble Award for Excellence in Garment Design; fashion designer Norman Norell nominated her for this prestigious award.
In 1959 she married George Magnuson of Chicago. They settled in Hinsdale, a suburb west of Chicago, where he was an associate pastor in a congregation of the Evangelical Covenant Church. In quick succession, five children were born to Quiwie and George, and while her responsibilities as a wife and mother took priority when her children were young, she continued her artistic pursuits in various media, focusing especially on silk screen. After her children were grown, Quiwie moved to Chicago’s Near North Side, where she worked as an independent fashion designer. Starting in the early 1970s, she spent summers on the west side of Vashon Island with family, and in later years she lived full-time on Gold Beach with Donald Matter. (… keepin’ it weird since ‘72.) She loved both her rural Vashon and urban Chicago lives. She hosted frequent dinner parties in her high rise apartment overlooking Lake Michigan, and she also regularly entertained on her Colvos Passage beach. Quiwie was active in the Covenant Church in Hinsdale, Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, and Vashon United Methodist Church. Up until recent years, she enjoyed vigorous physical activities, especially biking, boating, skiing, and mountaineering. She reached the summit of Mount Rainier on several occasions and also, at ages 49 and 50, conquered the peaks of Mounts Aconcagua and McKinley. She modelled for her children the importance of active living.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Helen Marie (Isaacson) and C. Harold Blomgren, twin brother Carl Blomgren, and brother-in-law Roger Westlund. She is survived by her sister Helen Westlund; brother Robert Blomgren (Alice); sister-in-law Marcia Blomgren; daughters Colette Quackenbush (Kelly) and Rene Nelson (Peter); sons Chad (Beth Glennon), Blake (Colette Halverson), and Kendall (Stephanie Nelson); and 13 grandchildren: Sloane, Colin (Sarah), Keir, Blaine; Tyler, Kajsa, Carlton; Gustav; George, Henry, Isaac; Stella and Frances. A service of the Resurrection of Christ and a memorial for Quiwie’s life was held Saturday, November 29 at First Covenant Church in Seattle. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Covenant Church, 400 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122.
Paid Obituary.
