TORRINGTON – Mass of Christian Burial for Maria R. Quinonez, 93, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 27, 2023 at Saint Rose Catholic Church with Father Dan Kostelc officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Maria died April 22, 2023 at Hospice of Laramie in Laramie, Wyoming. Memorials may be given to the Guadalupe Society at Saint Rose. A Rosary will be recited at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the church. Visitation will be Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the funeral home and the casket will be open at the rosary. Arrangements are by the Colyer Funeral Home and condolences may be sent to www.colyerfuneralhome.com.
Maria was born January 19, 1930 in Van Hauton, New Mexico the daughter of Adrian and Maria (Rodriguez) Ramos. Her parents with her four older siblings moved to a cattle ranch north of Lingle. She grew up in Goshen County and attended grade school and high school in Lingle.
After working as a nanny for the Tebbit family, she attended Goshen County Community College District, later known as Eastern Wyoming College. She then worked at the Goshen County Treasurer’s Office, where she worked until she married Arnold “Arnie” Quinonez on June 21, 1958. Over the next ten years they lived in a few small towns in Nebraska and Wyoming as Arnie pursued his career as a High School Music teacher.
During that they had two daughters, Suzanne and Adrianna, and they finally returned to Torrington to live on Park Lane Drive. After her children started school, she returned to college and got her nursing degree. She worked at Goshen County Community Hospital for a year. Then she finally got the job everyone knew her for, the school nurse at Lincoln Elementary.
All her life, Maria was the caregiver. She took care of hundreds of children as the “School Nurse” for over twenty years. She took care of her younger sisters, aging parents, her own children, nieces and nephews, her husband and so many others. For years she was also active in health care for the summer migrant school program. She was the person who everyone asked for help, advice and comfort. She was always helping, nursing or feeding family and friends. She was the main support of her whole extended family. Maria was very active in her church, Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, especially with the Guadalupe Society and always helping with funeral dinners. Maria loved sewing, gardening, canning and cooking. She was a wonderful and caring mother, wife and grandmother. We loved listening to her stories of her young life during the depression, her parents and their lives and their journey to the United States.
Maria was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Arnold Quinonez; her daughter Suzanne; and eight of her siblings including Aunt Carmen and Aunt Rose. She is already being missed by her daughter Adrianna (Lee) Gmeiner of Spokane, Washington; her grandchildren, Julia (George) Loeppky, Arni Gmeiner, and Joey Gmeiner; her just like a daughter Denny (Julio) Loya of Laramie, Wyoming, their children Kaleb, Emily and Haley; sister Cristina Haddenham of Las Vegas; nephew Phillip (Jody) Ramos and so many more nieces and nephews. Goodbye Mom. I know you are having a good time with Dad and Sue at Aunt Carmen’s birthday party.
