Moira Margret Arbuckle Quacchia
June 11, 1933 – February 21, 2022
Moira Quacchia was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the only child of John and Margret Arbuckle. Visiting the United States in 1954, she ended up staying and became a U.S. citizen in 1960. In June 1956, she married Joseph Dubinsky. Their only son, Philip Alan was born in April 1958. In February 1965, when Alan was six years of age, Joe died of a brain tumor. On July 8, 1972, Moira married Russell Quacchia. They purchased a home in Los Altos and resided there for forty-four years. Eventually, they purchased a house in Carmel-by-the-Sea that became their second home. In 2018, they moved from their Los Altos residence to The Forum Retirement Community in Cupertino.
Moira had a long professional career with Kaiser Permanente beginning in San Francisco in 1954. In 1962, when Joe and Moira were living in Santa Clara, Moira was asked to be the Clinic Administrator at the first Kaiser Clinic in Santa Clara County, located in Sunnyvale. Returning to the Santa Clara Kaiser Hospital she continued in Administration there, when in 1982, she was selected to manage the development and opening of a new Kaiser Clinic in Milpitas. She continued as the Milpitas Clinic Administrator in Milpitas until 1996 when she again returned to Kaiser Santa Clara as Assistant Hospital Administrator and remained there until her retirement in 1998.
During the course of her employment, Moira received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Antioch College in 1976, and in 1980 she was awarded a certification of completion from The Hospital Executive Development Program of Saint Louis University.
After retirement, Moira volunteered at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) and was a long time member of the Board of the Alliance for Aging Foundation in Monterey County. She also volunteered at the Breast Cancer Connection Foundation in Palo Alto and the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University. On October 1, 2004 the United States Congresswomen, Anna Eshoo, presented a Certificate of Special Congregational Recognition to Moira for her outstanding and invaluable service to the community. Moira’s favorite leisure activities were to travel, read and play the challenging game of Mah Jongg.
Moira was well known for her generosity to her friends, family and her relatives in Scotland, her volunteer work and her activism and support of Democratic causes.
Her husband Russ of almost fifty years and her son Alan survive Moira.
Donations in Moira’s name can be made to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Bay Area Cancer Connections or Planned Parenthood.
