Noal Quickstrom Obituary (1936 – 2021) – Bountiful, UT

Noal Ole Quickstrom was born on April 28, 1936 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Nestor Ole Quickstrom and Anna Habas Quickstrom. He was the oldest of four children and the only boy. He began taking accordion lessons at the age of eight and became very accomplished. It was a pleasure to listen to him practice every day. He and his father recorded some homemade records together – his father played the harmonica and Noal the accordion. He played the drums and trombone in the high school band for a while. Noal loved to draw and had an art book drawing things around the house. He painted pictures on the back of wallpaper his father had left over from some of his jobs. He wanted to be an industrial designer. He was a joker – he always wanted to make his family and others laugh or smile.

He joined the army with boyfriend Larry Chadwick right out of high school. He completed his basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He later became a cryptographer in the army and was stationed in Germany for the next three years. There he bought a Volkswagen and was able to travel to Scandinavia and all over Europe. He had it sent home at the end of his tour.

He was released from the army early when his father died on September 15, 1957. He never made it to the funeral because he contracted severe viral pneumonia. He stopped in New York to look for some friends he had made during a trip to Denmark. If he had chosen to go straight home instead of stopping in New York, the doctors told him he would never have made it to Minnesota. He was hospitalized in New York for about four weeks. So unusual was his case that doctors used him as an example for training medical students.

He served a three year mission in Finland. Finnish was a difficult language. He said people would speak to the missionaries as they would to children – more slowly and in plain language. He taught his sister Arlene to drive his VW, which she did while he was on his mission. Following his desire to learn about art, he went to the Minneapolis School of Art and graduated in industrial design.

He never liked the cold Minnesota winters, so he decided to go to California. In December 1970 he met Shirley Maxine Burton, a widow with five children, and married her. He wanted to help her raise her children. They had a daughter together, Beverly Melinda. They raised their family in Sylmar, California.

Not finding the type of job he wanted in industrial design, he took a job for Los Angeles County.

He was a loyal member of Latter-day Saint Church of Jesus Christ and had many callings, including bishop and temple worker. He shared the gospel throughout his life and was involved in several conversions after his mission. Noal and Shirley went to Mesa Arizona Temple as a senior missionary couple.

Shirley died on December 19, 2003. Noal married his second wife, Annette Burton, in 2005 and has been happily married for 16 years. They moved to Cedar City, Utah, and later north to Ogden for several years to be closer to Arlene. During his stay in Cedar City, Noal was diagnosed with Parkinson’s dementia. Annette has been his devoted carer and especially this last year when he has had strokes, falls and infections. He died on October 25, 2021 at the age of 85.

He is survived by his wife Annette; his daughter Beverly Tsimanis (Mark), grandsons Ryan and Daniel Tsimanis, his sisters Merle Needham (Lee deceased), Arlene Quickstrom; and Beverly Berke (Jack deceased) and extended family. Noal was a sweet, humble soul who loved to make his family and others laugh even in his last days. He is received by his parents, two brothers-in-law and many cousins.

He will be militarily buried on November 1, 2021 at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah.

Published by Russon Brothers Mortuary – Bountiful October 31 to November 1, 2021.

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