Partly Cloudy, 70° F
(Dec. 8, 1911 - Aug. 24, 2013)
Quin Blair, of Cody, died Aug. 24, 2013, at his home of natural causes. He was 101.
He was born on Dec. 8, 1911, to Frederick Theodore and Daisy Belle Blair in Mount Carmel, Ill., the youngest of their children.
He married Elizabeth Horseman on Sept. 5, 1933. He later married Ruth Taggart on Sept. 15, 1946.
He was a WWII veteran, having served in the Pacific Theater of the U.S. Navy and being honorably discharged in 1946.
Quin was a longtime resident of Cody. He was a graduate of the Denver School of Pharmacy in 1932 and obtained his Wyoming license in 1934.
He was an entrepreneur. Quin arrived in the state of Wyoming with less than $15 in 1929, securing room and board at the University of Wyoming in Laramie for the sum of $5. He was the leader (drums and saxophone) of the Quin Blair’s Band & Orchestra of Renown, the manager of the Cody Trading Company, owner of several drugstores in the state including both Blair Drug and Cody Drug in Cody.
Quin also was the manager of Pahaska Tepee, the owner/manager of the Buffalo Bill Village Tourist Court & Camp Ground, Blair Realty & Brokerage, and founder of Quin Blair Enterprises, which was to eventually include the Holiday Inn-Cody, Laramie and Riverton, as well as the Buffalo Bill Village.
Quin was actively involved in his community and his adopted state. He served as the Cody Club/Cody Country Chamber of Commerce president in 1957 and was a member of and chairman of the Wyoming Travel Council in 1971. Quin received the Bevinetto Friend of Tourism award in 1986 and the Big WYO Award in 1989.
Prior to his passing, Quin was the only living person to continuously reside in his Frank Lloyd Wright home designed and built by the famous architect. The Blair House was built in 1952 and dedicated to the National Historic Register in 1991. Quin was a lifelong member of Lions Club International; recently recognized as the longest dues-paying/oldest member of Lions Club International, worldwide. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he and his wife Ruth completed a mission to New York City in 1986.
He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, his wife of 60-plus years, Ruth Taggart Blair, and daughter Marilyn (Hogg) Blair.
Quin is survived by his son, Frederick “Ted” (Judie) Blair and two daughters from his first marriage, Elizabeth (Betsy) Kendall-Browne and Barbara Smith; grandsons James (Emily), Quintin and Taggart Blair, Jason (Jessica) Hogg, Ty Nay and Dr. Brian (Shelly) Smith; granddaughters Allison Kendall-Power, Kristen McGrew and Angela Spradlin; great-grandchildren Taylor Blair, Joshua and Jason Hogg, Charles Power, and Sidney, Samuel and Sean Smith.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Aug. 31, at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake Center in Cody. Interment will be at Riverside Cemetery the following week.
An online memorial is available at www.ballardfh.com
