Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Sonia Ann McQuinn was born in Fort Ord, California, to Michiko and Maurice McQuinn. Sonia joined her older brother, Harold, and later welcomed younger brother, Bob, into the family. Their father, who retired as a Sergeant First Class with the US Army, was often reassigned so the McQuinn family traveled together to military locations in Japan, Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia before returning to the Monterey Peninsula in California.

As a child, Sonia was an avid reader who loved a variety of books. She also loved being around people and enjoyed spending time with friends. She had an ability to bring everyone together.

After Sonia graduated from Monterey High School in 1973, she worked in the restaurant business and one of her first jobs was at Tia Maria's Restaurant on Cannery Row in Monterey. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and worked her way up to management for several restaurants.

Because Sonia was so competent and trustworthy, Harold moved her to Los Angeles in 1981 to help manage his venture in Don Jose's Restaurant. While in Southern California, she changed careers and studied at The Vidal Sasoon Academy in Santa Monica. Quickly, she gained a position as a manager and stylist at the Carlton Hair Salon in Westwood. Loved by her faithful customers, Sonia won two consecutive annual contests for the top grossing salon. For her entrepreneurial success, she earned the grand prize of a leased black BMW for a year.

After branching out on her own, she continued with several clients in their own homes. Beyond her talents for hairdressing, she became another family member with many of her clients. Her talents for coloring and cutting hair became secondary to the valued relationships she developed with her clients. In the late 1980's, she traveled to Japan to visit with her mother's family and do some sight-seeing with her mother, father and brother Harold. Family gatherings were such a priority in Sonia's life that she even carried pictures and letters from her family wherever she went.

Sonia was a special woman who enjoyed the Southern California sunshine while she showered everyone with love and attention. She made you feel like you could do anything in the world. After her beloved father passed away, she tried to talk with her mother every day by phone. In taking care of her mother's affairs she made friends with the mechanic, pharmacy, and doctors and brought them into her inner circle thereby ensuring her Mom was well cared for. She was also close with her brothers and their families and especially adored her nieces and nephews: Andrew, Briana, Julie, Valerie, Nicholas, Harrison, and Trevor. Bob's wife, Christine, remembers the wonderful way she bonded with the kids, even taking them on shopping trips. A voracious reader, she loved discussing novels with Christine's mother Nancy while trading mystery and detective books. Later in life, she shared her love of animals by dog sitting and helping pet owners.

Sonia was proud of everyone in her family and shared their stories with her many friends. Her neighbors were an extended part of her family as she always made time to listen to them. If they needed help, she reached out to make a difference in their lives. A neighbor with a terminal illness had a last wish was to visit Las Vegas. She had to make his dream come true so drove him to and from Las Vegas and used her modest personal resources in the process. For another neighbor who needed dental work, she "volunteered" her brother, Harold, to help the man she befriended. Sonia was the kind of person who would, and often did, give her last dollar to help someone else. Everything she did in life mattered to someone else. Her giving spirit was all encompassing as she had a remarkable way of taking care of people who had lost connection to their families. She took many people under her wings who needed her the most. With empathy and compassion, she had a knack for finding the best in people. Sonia's rare qualities and giving spirit will live on through her legacy which will be carried on by her family and friends. In her memory, Sonia would want you to love each other and take time to care for a friend or neighbor in need.

Memorial donations are welcome in Sonia's name to Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org) which provides shelter and other services to homeless children.