Sallie Ruth Creel Quillian

May 22, 1938 - January 6, 2021

Coral Gables, Florida - Sallie Ruth Creel Quillian, 82, of Coral Gables, FL died peacefully at Doctor’s Hospital on January 6, 2021 after an unexpected illness. Sallie was born in Gadsden, AL to Joe and Nellie Jo Morton Creel. She moved to Miami at the age of 6, where she attended Coral Gables Elementary, Ponce Junior High, and Coral Gables Senior High, graduating in 1956. Sallie attended Duke University for one year and then transferred to Emory University when she married her high school sweetheart, Warren W. Quillian II, who was in medical school there and to whom she was married for 62 years.

With a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Miami, Sallie worked as a family and marriage counselor at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables, for several decades.

Sallie delighted in her children and her many close friends, but her deepest love was for Warren. Sallie’s friends were precious to her. She gathered annually with her Omega group (a high school service organization) and learned to Zoom with them through the pandemic. Sallie was a lifelong, loyal friend to many.

Sallie was fascinated by the lives of everyone she cared about. She peppered her family and friends with dozens of questions to learn more about how they were doing and what they were up to. She always enjoyed pulling up a chair to listen to a friend. She created a home where all people were welcome, and she drew them in by taking an interest in the things that mattered to them.

Sallie was loving, authentic and fair-minded. She valued justice and doing the right thing. She pushed for change and stood her ground with love. She defended marriage equality, discussed ethics often, led values clarification groups for teens, and set a strong example by her actions. She was grateful for the privileges she enjoyed and keenly aware of them.

Sallie is survived by her husband Warren of 62 years, her four children: Rutledge, Ruth (Mark), Warren (Heather), and Frances (Joe); 6 granddaughters (Reese, Kadi, Eliza, Laine, Emma and Drew); and her brother, Joe Morton Creel. The family will hold a private service, releasing her ashes near the mouth of Biscayne Bay. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Rett-syndrome.org or the organization/cause of your choice in honor of Sallie.