Roberta Jeanne Quinlan

Roberta Jeanne (Lougee) Quinlan passed away suddenly on August 14, 2025 due to complications from cancer. She was only 72 and leaves behind her beloved husband of nearly 50 years, Patrick (P.J.); daughters, Melissa and Beth; son-in-laws, Tom Viola and Matthew Sullivan; and cherished grandchildren, Olivia, Quinn, Eliza and Conor.

Roberta was born on May 29, 1953 to Raymond and Ruth Lougee of Franklin, Massachusetts. The youngest of three daughters, Roberta was more than a decade younger than her older sisters, Lois and Jan, and a surprise addition to her family.

Raised in Franklin, Roberta spent her childhood running up and down School Street with her beagle Frisky in tow, visiting her grandparents, Walter and Ethel Bennett, who lived only a few houses away from her family’s home. She was a regular at the Franklin Country Club, where she golfed, swam and played tennis. A natural on the golf course, she and her dad, Ray, won the club’s father/daughter golf tournament together many times. Roberta spent her summers horseback riding and target shooting at Camp Deer Run on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, and she earned herself the reputation for being a perfect shot. But her fondest childhood memories were in York Beach, Maine, playing on the rocks alongside her grandparents’ house, enjoying clambakes, and eating taffy from the Goldenrod in Short Sands.

Roberta met her husband, P.J., while in the eighth grade, and they remained inseparable for the rest of their lives. She attended Franklin High School, where she played on the basketball, field hockey, softball and tennis teams, and she was voted “Friendliest” in her senior class. P.J.'s four siblings became like Roberta’s sisters and brothers, and she spent much of her teen years at the Quinlan house on Pond Street. In those days, Roberta could be found cruising from Lola’s Ice Cream to Saint Mary’s Church, but she knew better than to get caught hanging out on the Franklin Library steps.

After a hospital stay at age seven to have her spleen removed, Roberta was inspired to become a nurse, and she followed that dream after high school, attending the Mary Hitchcock School of Nursing at Dartmouth College. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1974, then worked as a Registered Nurse at Sturdy Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts. She became a head nurse by age 25 and a nursing supervisor at 27.

P.J. and Roberta married on October 4, 1975 in an ecumenical service at the Federated Church in Franklin, followed by a reception under a big white tent in her parents’ backyard on Haverstock Road. Their first daughter, Melissa, was born at Sturdy Hospital in 1980, and Roberta continued to work as a nurse until their family relocated to Fullerton, California in 1983.

Transitioning from New England to Orange County wasn’t easy, but Roberta rose to the challenge, supporting P.J.’s career aspirations and building a new life for their family. Her youngest daughter, Beth, was born in 1984, and they settled into their longtime home on Dorothy Lane in Fullerton, which was well-known for its red door.

Roberta loved being a mother to Melissa and Beth. When the girls were in elementary school at St. Juliana’s Catholic School in Fullerton, Roberta, who was raised Protestant, was a constant presence. She volunteered in the kitchen at the fish fry during Lent, took the girls to mass on Sunday so they could ace the homily quiz on Monday, and her hunter green Ford Bronco was always first in line at school pickup. From swimming and gymnastics to horseback riding and surfing, Roberta supported all of her daughters’ passions, while ensuring they were successful in school and life. In addition, she was a second mom to her nephew, Ray Milano, who was in the Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton and spent many weekends during his service at her house on Dorothy Lane.

A natural caregiver, Roberta shifted her focus to her aging parents once Melissa and Beth moved on to college. She looked after her dad in his final years, and, after his death, she ensured that her mom, Ruth, led a full life, driving her to golf, lawn bowling, hair appointments and more. Eventually, Ruth moved in with P.J. and Roberta, and Roberta cared for her until she passed away in 2007. During this time, Roberta also worked at P.J.’s company, GenForms, serving as the unofficial COO and sounding board to everyone from the staff to the boss himself.

In 2013, P.J. and Roberta fulfilled their lifelong dream of living by the ocean, moving to Huntington Beach, California as P.J. approached retirement. They spent many years enjoying life at the beach, which included walks together along the shore and on the pier, bike rides, dinners on Main Street, and an annual parking pass that guaranteed them the best spots at Bolsa Chica Beach. P.J. and Roberta made close friends with their neighbors at Seacliff on the Green, and Roberta served as their neighborhood’s unofficial social coordinator during COVID and beyond.

Roberta’s happiest days were at her daughters’ weddings, and she embraced her son-in-laws, Tom and Matt, as her own. She found her true calling as “Grammie” to Olivia, Quinn, Eliza, and Conor. For more than a decade, Roberta devoted herself to her grandchildren. She never missed a sports game or theater performance, was the first to “like” a shared album photo, and always found a way to make each of her grandkids feel special. She will be remembered for her epic beach days, which included plastic-wrapped sandwiches and plenty of snacks, seashell hunts and sandcastles, and little to no sunscreen.

Roberta is survived and forever remembered by her husband, Patrick Quinlan of Huntington Beach, California; daughters and son-in-laws Melissa & Tom Viola of Denver, Colorado and Beth & Matthew Sullivan of Rancho Santa Margarita, California; grandchildren Olivia & Eliza Viola of Denver, Colorado and Quinn & Conor Sullivan of Rancho Santa Margarita, California; sister, Lois Kane of Attleboro, Massachusetts; nephew, Ray Milano of Whitman, Massachusetts; sisters-in-law Regina St. John of Hudson, Massachusetts and Jennifer Denommee of Dennis, Massachusetts; brothers-in-law Steven Quinlan of Franklin, Massachusetts and Jeffery Quinlan of Coral Springs, Florida; and many more family and friends in California, Massachusetts and beyond. She was preceded in death by her parents Raymond and Ruth Lougee and her sister Janet O’Hara.