Frederick "Bill" Quitta Obituary (1959

Frederick William Quitta - beloved brother, son, husband,uncle, friend, Smithville Tiger, Aggie, artist, landscape architect, traffic engineer, quirky, funny, kind, easy-going and generous man, passed away Monday, October 1, 2018 at his home in Union Gap, Washington. Bill, as he was known, was born in Wagner, South Dakota on July 21, 1959 near his family’s home in Marty Mission, SD. At the age of 7 his family moved to Vermillion, SD for several years then moved to Smithville, TX (Bill’s parents and grandparents home) in 1972. Bill is a 1977 graduate of Smithville High School where he played football and basketball and pole vaulted on the track team. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1981 with a BS in Landscape Architecture. After college, Bill was co-owner of Tree House Installation and Design Company with his partner and friend, Mike Meyer. He then worked for the City of Dallas as a Traffic Engineering Technician. In 1991, he and his wife Linda moved to Yakima, Washington, where he worked as a Traffic Engineering Technician, recently retiring. He had a rewarding 25 year career with the City of Yakima working with crews and contractors in design and city planning to ensure the safety of the citizens. Bill had a passion for art that began when he started started painting with watercolor in the early 1990's while in Dallas, TX. After entering and placing in a local art competition, he got serious about painting and continued to explore painting with watercolor and eventually oils. His subject matter was inspired by nature, European Architecture, horses and their trainers, portrait paintings of his family and friends, and the beautiful countryside in Washington state. He won the 2000 International Kite Festival poster competition in Long Beach, WA, showed and sold his work at Gallery One in Ellensburg, WA; The Clymer Museum in Ellensburg, WA, and in two Oil Painters of America shows (Dallas and at the Lee Youngman Gallery in Calistoga ,Ca) in 2006. He won a spot in an East Coast touring art exhibition with a portrait of one of his nieces, Victoria Quitta, and created original art that was used for posters for the local Case of the Blues Festival, The Central Washington State Fair and local wineries. He passed along many oil and water color paintings of family members, capturing their unique personalities, which will be treasured by the Quitta Family for generations to come. Bill was married for 32 years to his wife Linda, who he met in 1985 while working in Colorado Springs, Co. Together, they built two homes and shared their life with their animals. Bill did not start out his life as an animal lover,but became one after willingly taking on the role of "stable boy" and animal handler to he and Linda's three horses Ardeo, Venada, and Milagro and their four dogs: Chloe, Cole, Ancha , and Lilly. Bill Quitta is survived by his ex-wife Linda, siblings: Kathy Quitta and her husband Richard Daniel of Belton, Tx; Anne Quitta Harris of Smithville, Tx; Brother-in-law David Mikulenka of Hockley, Tx; Jeanne Quitta Mitchell of Georgetown, Tx; Pete Quitta and his wife Laurie of La Grange, Tx; Davidica Quitta Broderson and her husband Blake of Georgetown; Maggie Quitta and her husband Chris Bohne of Austin, Tx ; Tony Quitta and his wife Amy of Smithville, Tx, 24 nieces and nephews, his dogs Cole and Lilly,and other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Steve Jr. and Kitty Quitta; grandparents Steve Sr. and Olga Quitta, and Lawrence and Emily Katherine Moll; 2 sisters, Mari Quitta Mikulenka and Carole Ann Hart; 2 brothers-in-law Robert Harris and Michael Mitchell, a cousin Mark Quitta, 2 aunts, Betty Quitta and Dorothy Maupin and an uncle Frederick William Quitta. Memorial Services are pending at this time. Memorial contributions are appreciated to the Yakima Humane Society in Bill’s memory, and in honor of his beloved Pit Bull, Lilly – address : 2405 W. Birchfield Road Yakima, Washington 98901.