Quimby C. Enterline
September 25, 1924 – February 1, 2015
Quimby C. Enterline
September 25, 1924 – February 1, 2015
Quimby C. Enterline, 90, longtime resident of Edmond, Okla. was born September 25, 1924 in Piedmont, Oklahoma to Quimby L. and Ruth Enterline. Quimby was a WWII veteran serving in U.S. Army. He retired from Tinker Air Force Base after 33 years of service. Saying that Quimby loved Scouts would be a major understatement. He held every position as an adult, spanning over 50 years, the longest being Scout Master. He helped countless boys in their journey through Scouts including his three Eagle Scout sons and two grandsons and his Girl Scout daughter. He was an avid volunteer in the Edmond community most notable being a volunteer for close to 30 years at the Edmond Historical Museum. He was also passionate about his work with LibertyFest Parade of which he was a Grand Marshall. This just touches his volunteer contributions. Quimby was also a member of the Woodcarvers Association, many of his carvings can be seen at the Museum.
What does one say? What ever it is, it will be inadequate but I was one of the many scouts that Quimby mentored over the years. I first met Quimby at Orvis Risner Elementary School when he would visit his wife, who ran the kitchen there for many years. I then had the honor of joining Troop 1 in 1982, where Quimby presented a hand carved Arrow Head neckerchief slide. I know Quimby touched may lives throughout the years and I am proud and honored to have been one of them along with my two sons. Recently, he honored me once more when he gave me his blessing as I returned to Troop 1 as Scoutmaster. I only hope I can influence a fraction of the lives Quimby did.
Quimby, thank you for your tireless efforts through the years, you were truly one of a kind and I along with countless others will miss your guidance and wisdom.
Richey Stovall
Scout from Troop 1, 1982-1990
Scoutmaster for Troop 1, November 2013-Present
Quimby was a long time member of Edmond American Legion Post 111
he held the position of historian for years
Quimby touched everyone he meet. I am glad he and his wife volunteered in Edmond. He and his wife touched my husband’s life. This has evident in my husband as he teaches other boys in Boy Scouts.
Quimby always had time for my boys and he especially had a special place in my youngest son’s heart. My son once asked Quimby “Quimby will you be around when I get my Eagle?” Quimby’s sweet and honest reply “I hope so.” When that time comes for my son’s Eagle ceremony, Quimby will have the most honored seat in the house.
Thank you Quimby for all you did on this earth. I know I thank God for you everyday when I look at my family picture.
Jennifer Stovall
Wife of Richey Stovall and mother too two future Eagle Scouts
Sorry for this great loss. A true caring gentleman. I did know him personally but in the scouting world there is a connection. Wylie Cuthriell Assistant Scoutmaster Troop 275 Choctaw, Oklahoma.
It is hard to put into words what Quimby meant to me and other scouts. I had the pleasure of working with him in Scouting for 15 years. He put his heart into scouting and its history in Edmond. At one time we said a scout in Eagle District was not an Eagle until they met Quimby. He served as the District Advancement Chair for many years. He was very proud of the record of Eagle Scouts in our district. Anytime I asked him how many Eagle scouts we had, he would pull out his little book and tell me. Then he would remind me of scouts in my troop that had started the process, but not finished. To him it was an honor to maintain the history of Eagle Scouts, Award of Merit recipients, and Bronze Eagle recipients. There is a Quimby Enterline Order of the Arrow Award plaque beside these plaques, but he was very humble about it. He always said it was about the work the boys did, not his name. These boys followed in his footsteps and will continue his legacy as all of the Scouting volunteers in Eagle District will. He will be greatly missed.
I will never forget one of his favorite questions to ask young scouts. He would say, “A scout is thrifty. What is the one thing a scout must be thrifty with because it can never be replaced?” The answer was, “Time. Once you waste your time, it can never be replaced.” Quimby never wasted his time. He volunteered his time to Scouting, the museum, veteran’s organizations, and other activities that could make a difference in our future and remind us of where we came from. Thank you Quimby for all you taught me. I will do my best to continue your legacy.
Bob Porter
Past Eagle District Committee Chairman and a friend.
Quimby was my first Scoutmaster. Even after Mr. Purvis took that post, Quimby continued to guide, mentor, and encourage. He was a key adult leader in Troop 1 that helped me reach the rank of Eagle. I cherish the memories of sitting around a campfire and chatting about whatever came to mind.
Largely on his example, I’m an adult Scout leader to this day. People ask why I’m still doing it, 23 years in, with two adult Eagle Scout sons long gone from the program. I just think of Quimby and keep going. It’s the only meaningful way I can thank him for his contribution to my life.
Quimby Enterline has left us, and left us all better for having known him. It was my privilege to work with him as Scout Executive of the Last Frontier Council from 1992 to 2003. As you have read on this site, his dedication was legend, as was his careful tracking of young men on the Eagle Trail. Scouting is what it is, and does the good it does, because men like Quimby put kids first, and themselves second. To the family, thank you for your unbelievable sharing of your patriarch with Scouting and with the Edmond community. May memories of this good man, and knowledge of the difference he made, comfort you. The story I’ve attached here has Quimby Enterline all over it:
Within My Power
By Forest E. Witcraft (1894 – 1967), a scholar, teacher, and Boy Scout Executive and first published in the October 1950 issue of Scouting magazine.
I am not a Very Important Man, as importance is commonly rated. I do not have great wealth, control a big business, or occupy a position of great honor or authority.
Yet I may someday mould destiny. For it is within my power to become the most important man in the world in the life of a boy. And every boy is a potential atom bomb in human history.
A humble citizen like myself might have been the Scoutmaster of a Troop in which an undersized unhappy Austrian lad by the name of Adolph might have found a joyous boyhood, full of the ideals of brotherhood, goodwill, and kindness. And the world would have been different.
A humble citizen like myself might have been the organizer of a Scout Troop in which a Russian boy called Joe might have learned the lessons of democratic cooperation.
These men would never have known that they had averted world tragedy, yet actually they would have been among the most important men who ever lived.
All about me are boys. They are the makers of history, the builders of tomorrow. If I can have some part in guiding them up the trails of Scouting, on to the high road of noble character and constructive citizenship, I may prove to be the most important man in their lives, the most important man in my community.
A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a boy.
I have held onto very few possessions from my childhood. The 2 kneckerchief slides that were hand carved for me by Quimby Enterline are 2 of them. I, like most who met him will never forget him.
There has not been a time in my Scouting with the Last Frontier Council that there was not Quimby. He became an integral part of our family’s life as well through his influence upon and critical interaction with all of us. When I announced his death at a Troop meeting Monday, one of the Eagles I had coached and had sat before Quimby several times was genuinely crest fallen (as were so many adults in the room). To see just a small sampling of the extent to which this man had become such an intimate part of the fabric of so many lives, had to make anyone realize just how truly outstanding this man was.
We will, albeit selfishly, miss his presence among us. On the other hand, though, I’ll bet you Quimby has got one wang-dang-doodle of a new backpack now! And come to think of it, . . . I’ll bet you God has got a brand new hand carved neckerchief slide as well.
My family met Quimby in 1985 through Boy Scouts. He was always kind, smiling, and helpful. Although we did not join Troop 1 we were affiliated with Quimby through Scouting ever since. He was part of me and my brother’s Eagle Scout Board of Review process, as he was for countless Scouts from Eagle District. We were told we’d know how to find his house to turn in our paperwork because of that (orange?) truck of his, and they were right! My father worked with him for decades as a volunteer. Most impressively, he always recognized my mother, whom he saw infrequently, and carried on a genuine conversation with her, every time he saw her. The last time I saw Quimby we had a memorable conversation and picked up where we left off as if we saw each other every day. Quimby Enterline was one of the finest people I met through Scouting in a lifetime of fine people. Best wishes to his family and friends. He is a man to be celebrated and he will be remembered fondly.
I first met Quimby on Bear day at the Edmond Historical museum. He was telling us how he was in scouts when WWII broke out. It gave me a glimpse of what life was like back then.
When visiting troops at Webelos Woods, I seen him again with Troop 1.
When I started going to Eagle District Roundtable, he was a permanent fixture. He was always friendly, courteous, kind, and informative. (There is automatically 3 of the Scout Law.)
My older son was one to receive the OA Quimby Enterline Award. I was very proud of him because I knew who Quimby Enterline was.
Then my older son’s name was wrote in his notebook, and he was given a number for his Eagle BOR. He was deeply committed to the scouts becoming Eagles.
I am sure my younger son’s name was also written in his book.
He will always hold a special place in my heart.
May the Great Spirit be with you,
Rachel Lake
T79 ASM
Dear Family,
Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time of great loss.
May God comfort you and give you peace.
Dr Mohammad Ghani and staff of Oklahoma Heart Hospital Physicians, Edmond.
Dear Family,
I was so sorry to hear about Quimby. I very much enjoyed my time with him at the Edmond Historical Society, and will always have fond memories of him.
My thoughts are with you all-
Greg