Virginia Margaret Sugg Quinn

Virginia “Ginger” Margaret Sugg Quinn, beloved artist, teacher, activist, mother, and friend, passed away peacefully on November 8, 2025, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the age of 80. She was born on April 11, 1945, in San Antonio, Texas, where her lifelong devotion to creativity and her fierce, generous spirit first began to take shape.

For the last five years, Ginger was cared for with profound love and devotion by her son, Sam Quinn, who served as her primary caregiver, companion, and advocate. Her final weeks were spent in the cozy comfort of her apartment, surrounded by art, comfort, humor, and the rituals that brought her joy.

Ginger attended the University of North Texas, where she studied Art and Teaching, two passions that became the backbone of her life. Over the decades, she taught art in countless schools, community centers, and her own workshops across Texas, New Mexico, and California. Wherever she went, she inspired creativity, courage, self-expression, and healing.

She created the wearable–art line “Goddess Garb,” a celebration of color, freedom, and feminine power. In Taos, she founded “Art for the Heart,” a community space dedicated to using creativity as a pathway to healing—one of the true highlights of her artistic journey. In the 1990s she opened a second Art for The Heart during her time in Northern California. She worked in fiber, clay, mosaic, doll-making, fabric collage, wearable art, and mixed media, always following curiosity wherever it led.

A true working artist, Ginger could often be found selling her artwork at craft fairs, connecting warmly with strangers who quickly became friends, sharing stories, laughter, and the spirit behind each piece she made.

Ginger lived as boldly as she created. She once hitchhiked on an airplane. She lived and worked on a sailboat in Puerto Vallarta. She immersed herself in San Francisco’s radical, creative energy throughout the 1970s. She practiced yoga and Transcendental Meditation for decades. She taught troubled teens, challenged institutions like Central Catholic High School and Texas Military Institute, and never shied away from shaking up the status quo.

\In Taos, Ginger became affectionately known as “The Recycling Goddess” — not as a casual nickname, but because of her dedicated work at the local recycling center, where she championed environmental stewardship long before it was fashionable. Her devotion to Mother Earth was both practical and spiritual, expressed through action, art, and daily life.

Ginger is survived by her son Sam Quinn, her loyal dog Furlong, and a wide constellation of chosen family and dear friends whose lives she touched with her ferocity, humor, creativity, and love.

A private Celebration of Life will be held on November 29th from 2–5 PM.

Loved ones are invited to bring a small memento for the Ginger Altar, a collective offering honoring her life, artistry, and spirit.

For details, please contact her son, Sam.

Ginger leaves behind a legacy of honesty, courage, wild creativity, and unconditional love—a life lived entirely on her own terms. Her presence was a gift. Her mark on the world is indelible. And her spirit will continue to move through every piece of art she made and every heart she opened.