Mr. Joe Quilici Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Butte has lost one of it’s finest. Joe Quilici passed away August 14, surrounded by his loving family. A true “gentleman” Joe, was born on July 6, 1925 to Joseph and Sennie (Nordstrom) Quilici. Joe was the older of two boys, his younger brother Donald born just 11 months later. A single mother raised him in East Butte after losing his father at the age of three. In 1936, Joe moved to the Greeley area when his mother married Jim Lawrence, this is where Joe met his closest friends the Fisher’s and Hubber’s. While Joe was at Butte High School he met his best friend Mark Sullivan. Mark and Joe had many adventures, always watching out for each other, and remained close friends till the end. Joe was on the 1943 Butte High football team when they dedicated Naranche Stadium. Joe was looking forward to becoming a diamond B on the 75th anniversary of the dedication. In late 1943 right after the end of football season, Mel Fisher and Joe enlisted in basic training in California, for the Merchant Marines conducted by the Coast Guard. By 1944 the training was complete, it was the beginning of more than two years of constant sailing that spanned the globe. Joe was in the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Mediterranean- Middle East War Zones, by the age 21 he had seen most of the world. While at sea, Joe was injured when a bomb hit their ship. He was very grateful that the only injuries he sustained were hearing loss and shrapnel in his hand. On of his greatest honors was being able to take the “Honor Flight”. When Joe returned back to Butte after serving he work for Pittsburg Paint and Glass, Mountain Bell, F and S construction, and driving cab. At times, he would go to San Francisco working on a cruise ship to be close to the sea, always returning back to Butte the city he loved. While working for Owl Cab, he met Georgia Ann Furthmyre, a cute little 18 years old that worked for the Texas Company. After driving her a few times, a spark was ignited. It was told he would tell the other drivers that; “if her address came in I would take it”. He married his “Georgie Girl” on July 18, 1953 in Butte, together they had five children; Joe Jr., Bob, Theresa, Andi and Mickey. Recently, they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. Joe would tell everyone, “ She was the best thing that ever happened to me”. The love and respect they had for each other was like no other. Joe and Georgia were not only partners in life, but business partners as well. The two opened Quilici Glass in 1971, after his first term in the legislature. Joe spent 30 years as a state lawmaker and 4 years as a county commissioner. While in the legislature, Joe held many different positions, he served as a democratic whip, minority whip, and majority whip. He severed on the Consumer Council from 1973 to 2000; he was selected as 1 of 12 legislatures from around the United States to visit Germany after the Berlin Wall came down. Joe had his hand in many projects that benefited Butte and the State of Montana with an estimate, he’s voted on nearly 24,000 pieces of legislation over the years. At the time of his death, Joe was still serving on the Lady of the Rockies, Acadia, and the Montana Facility Finance Authority boards. Joe was instrumental in negotiating a peaceful settlement with the Freemen in central Montana. Joe was preceded in death by his parents and stepfather, brother and sister-in-law Don and Mary Quilici, father-in-law and mother-in-law Roy and Margie Meyers, sister-in-law Carol Lindel, son-in-law Tommy Reopelle, and grandson-in-law Tom Burke. Survivors include wife Georgia, sons, Joe (Sandy) Quilici, Bob Quilici. Daughters Theresa Quilici Newbreast, Andi (Paul) McCaughey, and Mickey (Jay) Lawrence. Grandchildren Jay (Michele) Quilici, Becky Burke, Paul Quilici, Sloan and Jesse Newbreast, Marcus, Chelsey and Ethan McCaughey, Tanner and Tyler Reopelle, and Kasey Alger. Great-grandchildren Madison and Grady Quilici, Abby and Jaycee Burke. Nephews Pat and Donald, nieces Sennie, Shawna, and Down Marie Quilici, and life-long friend Mark Sullivan. Memorials may be made to Our Lady of the Rockies the Spirit of Butte Carousel or the Butte High Silver B's.

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Mr. Joe Quilici

July 6, 1925 - August 14, 2016