Pam Quist Obituary

Pam Quist passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 20, 2017 in Lake City, under the care of the Mayo Hospice System. She was a cancer survivor for nearly 15 years.
    Pam was born in St. Peter, Minn. on Jan. 9, 1938 and grew up in Le Sueur where she graduated from high school in 1956. Pam met her husband, Wayne Quist, at St. Olaf College and they were together nearly 60 years. She earned degrees in German and history at St. Olaf (1960) and the University of Minnesota. Pam worked for many years as a professional book editor and technical writer/editor for several book publishers and university publications.
    Pam was a true lady and adventurer who inherited her father’s wit, charm, and humor; and from her mother she inherited a kind and gentle nature. Throughout her life Pam exhibited exquisite taste and style in everything from personal dress to home decor, and she was very proud of her 100 percent Swedish heritage (Benson/Peterson/Andreasdotter).
    Pam’s flair for adventure and new horizons took her around the world with her husband during his Air Force and business careers. She traveled extensively from London to Istanbul and was especially fond of the English theater, Italy, and the south of France. Pam lived in Texas, Washington state, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, California, Belgium and Germany, and returned home to Minnesota for the last 25 years.
    Pam loved books and was a talented editor and writer. She was a voracious reader with thousands of books in her Kindle and traditional library. She was especially fond of the great Russian, French, and English writers and had a lifelong love of the theater, especially the London stage and Shakespeare’s Stratford; and she loved American history - Jefferson, Adams, the Founding Fathers and Lincoln. Throughout her life Pam played the piano, organ and other instruments and loved to play privately at home for her personal enjoyment.
    Pam is survived by her husband, Wayne Quist of Lake City; her son, Pete (Yvette) Quist of Red Wing; her grandson, Chris Quist of Eagan; and her bother, Jim (Suzette) Benson of Tarpon Springs, Fla. She was preceded in her death by her parents, Paul and Pauline Benson. Pam asked that she be cremated; her ashes will be interred at Christdala Cemetery in Millersburg, Minn.