Treasured Firstborn Daughter; Big Sister; Wife; Auntie/Tia to her siblings’ children and countless other children she loved; Teacher-Mentor-Art Docent-Art Patron-Advocate-Collaborator-Knitter- Weaver-Gardener-Dancer-Reader-Cat Lover-World Traveler and above all a Positive Force of Nature! Lucy was a genius at nurturing life-long friendships, serving her community, and enjoying life to the fullest.

Born in La Jolla, California on July 13, 1942, to Hazel (Robertson) and Lt. Colonel Mathew Santino, her early years were spent as an Army brat exploring exotic locations in the United States, Panama, Argentina and Colombia (where she fell in love with the Spanish language, flamenco and bullfighters). Her siblings Mary, Peter and Nancy arrived during this period. In 1956 the Santino family moved to Eureka, returning to where her mother’s side had called home since the 1850s. She made friends easily at Eureka Senior High and graduated as class treasurer in 1960. At Humboldt State College, she earned a BA in 1964 and an MA in 1982. It was there Lucy found Lewis Quinby (in his own words: challenging, charming, cranky, comforting), the love of her life. They married in 1966.

After Lewis earned his BA and MA from Humboldt State College in photography, he became interested in group and family therapy and earned his LCSW at Sacramento State in 1971. He became Eureka’s most memorable therapist and family counselor and advocate for transactional analysis.

Lucy dove into a 35-year teaching career in Eureka City Schools. In 1993, she was awarded the prestigious Milken Educator Award. She first taught at Zane Jr. High and then Eureka High School, retiring in 2000 as Eureka High’s most beloved Spanish teacher ¡Señora Quinby! Lucy delighted in running into former students and their children and their grandchildren wherever she went, and while holding court with Lewis at Ramone’s Bakery on Harrison.

Those two, Lucy & Lew, traveled the world like crazy for 50 years. A river cruise in Europe. The highlands of Scotland. The inland passage to Alaska. Hong Kong. Paris. Mexico… returning after each voyage for work and rest in their cozy home in Myrtletown that they bought in 1972. Their garden said so much about them: Zen-like, bonsai, defined, well-tended favorite trees but also dripping with roses and raspberries, succulents and heathers. Private and sheltering, welcoming and generous.

In addition to decades of family gatherings and solo retreats at her grandmother Zoe Barnum’s Salyer cabin, Lucy also traveled with her mother, Hazel Santino, to places they had lived in South America, to Robertson-family origins in Scotland, and a memorable trip to Tuscany to visit Peter and his family for Hazel’s 75th birthday.Soon after Lucy’s retirement from Eureka City Schools, her mother had a stroke and Lucy devoted herself to taking care of her and making arrangements that allowed her mother to stay in her own home, as she wished, until her passing in 2008.

Even if you only met Lucy once, you’ll remember her vibrant smile and feisty energy. For the last quarter of a century she dedicated so much time to mission-driven organizations including: The Humboldt Arts Council where she served both on the board and as a docent for the Morris Graves Museum of Art; Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival (she was always a favorite with the authors); Overseeing the Mathew Santino Scholarship Program, at Humboldt Area Foundation, for students of international relations and foreign languages; and working together with Lewis on the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka’s project providing assistance to hospitals in Mexico.

After Lewis died on January 5, 2022, Lucy’s plans to start traveling again were thwarted by her failing health. To mitigate her frustration that travel had become impossible, dear friends, family and her excellent caregivers took her on jaunts to restaurants and the glorious vistas of Humboldt County, cooked for her, invited her to tea, sat with her while she knitted and told stories and laughed, or called from around the world. Lucy was pampered, coiffed, Reiki-ed, amused, her every food whim satisfied. Though frail, she was spotted at the center of local parties and dedications, always smiling and positive. Her siblings did for her, what she had done for their mother, whatever was necessary for her to stay in her own home for the rest of her remarkable life.

She stunned us all with her determination to enjoy life between health ups and downs, her illness more than just inconvenient, it would likely have been unbearable for anyone who was not Lucy (in her own words: stubborn Scot and tough Siciliana)!

Hospice very gently declared her in transition on a Friday, and she was gone just before midnight on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Lucy’s powerful soul left with her usual flourish. A storm was brewing, her windchimes wildly playing, her front door blew open and she was gone. Decisively. Naturally. Her life was magical and so was her crossing over. A hearty rain then fell on her precious garden. She died in her home as she wished, knowing she was exceedingly well loved and had loved well in return.

Lucy was confident that her work will continue professionally, and full of heart, by those she mentored and collaborated with. She was so grateful for this life, this work, her devoted family and friends. And somehow after so many rallies, for so many years, she managed to surprise us all at how quickly she could make things happen when she declared herself ready! But didn’t she always do that?

Because Lucy adored Christmas, her Celebration of Life will be held December 20, 2025, 1-3 p.m. at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F Street, Eureka.

If you cannot attend, Lucy will understand, but when you travel to exotic lands, taste the food, smell the air, feel the weather, ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!! and tell her all about it.Lucy Quinby is survived by her siblings, and their spouses, Mary Troth (Chris), Peter Santino (Shirley), Nancy Andrews (Bill); her nephews and nieces, Jeremy Jerome (Sunny), Jake Jerome, Nathan Weiss, Hazel Lee Santino and Luciano Matteo Santino; grandniece Karli Weiss and grandnephews Caleb Jerome and Skyler Jerome - as well as a legion of amazing and fortunate people she called friends.

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