The passing of Tim Quigley

Funeral arrangements will be announced later this week for well-known former UW-Green Bay staff member Tim Quigley, who passed away April 17 while visiting family in Florida. He was 68.

With his gregarious, high-energy personality, Quigley “put the fun into fundraising” and was the creative force behind Bayfest. The long-running summer festival became synonymous with June in Green Bay, helped put the beautiful campus grounds on the map and boosted the fledgling Phoenix Athletics program’s drive for financial stability. “Tim’s efforts contributed a great deal to making Division I a success,” recalls friend and colleague Dan Spielmann, former Phoenix Athletics director. “He was very creative. We did various fundraising activities, but Bayfest became his crowning achievement. It was also valuable promotion, I believe, for the campus as a whole. In those early years, quite a few people in the community had not yet been out here, and Bayfest brought families and people who otherwise might not have visited.” When Quigley stepped down as festival director in 2005 — new organizers have since re-positioned the event and moved it downtown — he estimated Bayfest had raised well over $1 million total for student-athlete scholarships. (Not bad for something that had grown from a humble, one-tent picnic in 1980.)

Quigley began his association with the Phoenix in 1974, serving as sports information director and, later, director of marketing and promotions. He retired from full-time duties in 1997 but continued as Bayfest director on a contract basis. His interests were expansive — the Green Bay native and U.S. Army veteran enjoyed jazz and classical music, cooking, gardening and fishing (especially ice fishing) — and he took board of directors positions with the Northeastern Wisconsin Arts Council, the Green Bay Area Visitor and Convention Bureau, the United Way, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  An early contributor to Artstreet and, later, manager of the Brown County Fair, he shared his expertise as a leading member of the International Festivals Association.

Tim Quigley is survived by his wife, Edda, and their two daughters, Michelle and Tina. Services are likely to be held Friday (April 24). Ryan Funeral Home in De Pere will be in charge of arrangements.