Juanita Quigley obit

Obituary: Juanita Q. (Quigley) Schultz 1931-2017

She was not on the list.

Juanita Q. (Quigley) Schultz, 86, of Sudbury, passed away on Sunday, October 29, 2017, surrounded by her loving family. She was the loving wife of the late Dr. Donald “Dutch” Robert Schultz.

Born in Los Angeles, California on June 24, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Wayne D. Quigley and Martha M. (Mchale) Quigley.

Juanita was a famous childhood star who lived her life in secrecy so she could help people without distraction. She was a well-known childhood actress in the 30’s and 40’s. This was something she chose to keep quiet throughout her life, never letting anyone know about her past as an actress, even despite thousands trying to track her down through the years. At the age of 20, in August 1951, Juanita became a nun in the Order of the Daughters of Mary and Joseph and was a teacher at Precious Blood Catholic School. Juanita eventually decided she would like to go back to school herself, so she provided a one-year notice to her superiors and left the Convent. Juanita went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles and Master of Arts degree from San Francisco State University.

Quigley was billed as "Baby Jane" in several early roles. Her screen debut was as Claudette Colbert's three-year-old daughter in Imitation of Life (1934). She went on to play featured parts in several films, including The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934) and was Jean Harlow's niece in Riffraff (1936). Quigley became a familiar face to moviegoers of the era, but major roles for children so young were few and she often played bits as well as featured roles. She was one of the most popular child stars of her day, and was Universal Pictures' youngest star in 1934.

Quigley was briefly involved in the Our Gang film series. In 1940, she was the guest-starring lead in The New Pupil when cast as Sally, who briefly takes "Alfalfa" (played by Carl Switzer) away from Darla Hood. Two years later, she reprised the character in Going to Press (1942), the only time in the MGM era where the female lead was played by someone other than Darla Hood (who had recently left the series) or Janet Burston.

Quigley acted alongside her older sister, Rita Quigley, in Whispering Footsteps (1943). Her last major role was in National Velvet (1944), in which she played Elizabeth Taylor's sister.

 

In June 1964, Juanita married Donald Dutch Schultz who was of amazing notoriety himself and who also spent his career teaching and helping people. The couple lived in Canada while Dutch finished his doctorate and eventually moved to Pennsylvania for their teaching careers. Juanita spent more than twenty years as a Professor of English at Delaware County Community College. She retired in 1992. That same year she was the recipient of the Gould Award at Delaware County Community College. Juanita was awarded Faculty Emerita status in 2000.

In addition to her teaching career at Delaware County Community College, Juanita and her husband spent tremendous energy and time helping oppressed people in the Mexican state of Chiapas. These efforts initially centered around Mexican Indian survivors whose families had been slaughtered for their land. The couple organized fundraising efforts throughout the year and took annual trips to Chiapas to donate money to help the impoverished indigenous people. The couple also initiated a cultural exchange program that linked students at Villanova University with families in Mexican villages stating that “it is important for us to see that the poor have a name and a face”. They led this program for ten years.

Juanita was deeply religious and was a fixture at St. Monica’s in Berwyn, PA, St. Norbert and The Daylesford Abbey, both in Paoli, PA, Immaculate Conception in Cottonwood, AZ, and most recently, Our Lady of Fatima in Sudbury, MA.

Juanita retired to the Verde Valley in Arizona with Dutch in 1992 and resided there through 2014. In August 2014 Juanita moved to Sudbury, MA with her son Erik, and his family.

She is survived by her son Erik Q. Schultz and his wife Susan of Sudbury her Grandchildren Alexander, Brittany and Julia Schultz, MA, and her daughter Marta Schultz of California. Juanita was predeceased by her brother Quintin Quigley and sister Rita Goehner.

Filmography

Year       Title       Role

1934      We're Rich Again              Child with nanny

Have a Heart      Rosy

Imitation of Life                Baby Jessie Pullman

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head           Linette Verin

1935      Straight from the Heart Maggie Haines

Alias Mary Dow                 Mary Dow

1936      Riffraff Rosie

The Devil-Doll    Marguerite Coulvet

Born to Dance   Sally Saks

1938      Hawaii Calls        Doris Milburn

The Devil's Party               Helen McCoy, as a child

You and Me        Nasty little girl

Woman Against Woman               Ellen

Having Wonderful Time                 Mabel

Men with Wings               Patricia Falconer, aged 6

That Certain Age               The pest

1939      The Family Next Door     Susan

Code of the Streets         Cynthia

1940      Oh, Johnny, How Can You Love!                 Junior

The Blue Bird     Child

The New Pupil (short)     Sally

1941      Bachelor Daddy                 Girl with pigtails at movie

Paper Bullets      Rita, as a child

1942      The Vanishing Virginian Caroline Yancey

Going to Press   Sally

A Yank at Eton   Jane Dennis

1943      Assignment in Brittany   Jeannine

Happy Land        Sally

Whispering Footsteps    Rose Murphy

1944      The Lady and the Monster           Mary Lou

National Velvet Malvolia Brown

1948      Luxury Liner        Jean

1950      Mystery Street Daughter