This obituary has been updated with funeral information.

Sadie Vieira Quinn was born on February 18, 1997 in Dearborn, Michigan, and passed suddenly on January 6, 2023. She is survived by her parents, Brian and Sandra Quinn, her sister, Sandie Quinn, her grandmother, Frances Quinn, her grandfather, Hildo Andrade de Freitas, as well as an extremely close network of family and friends.

A brilliant student, Sadie graduated summa cum laude from Troy High School in 2015 and from University of Michigan in 2022 with multiple degrees in Biochemistry, Comparative Literature, and French. She was also a member of the Honors Program in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

Sadie’s world was vast and her dreams large! But she was grounded by her special family relationships. Sadie and Sandie were so close and, as children, were often mistaken for twins. Sadie and Sandie would talk for hours, did ballet, lived together in Ann Arbor, and traveled together to Nice, France, with another pseudo sister, Fernanda. Sadie would talk or text with Fernanda at any hour to keep up with the Brazilian family news. Sadie’s Aunt Savia also meant a great deal to her. She described her relationship with Savia as “a little bit mother, sister, and aunt.” Of course, her grandfathers also were special to her—especially Hildo who is still alive today at 99! She was enthralled by his stories. We’ll be posting a video on the tribute wall of Sadie highlighting her relationship with Hildo.

Closely connected to her Brazilian heritage and fluent in Portuguese, she spent summers in Brazil her entire life. For several summers in high school and college, she was a community volunteer in a hospital, shadowing doctors and creating first aid kits for rural health posts. She had a deep passion for helping others and demonstrated that through many outlets. She had dreams to become a pediatric doctor.

A voracious reader, Sadie also expressed herself beautifully through her own writing, especially her poetry. She attended the New England Literature Program (NELP) in spring 2022 to immerse herself in reading, writing, and nature.

In summer 2022, Sadie was a mentor for underprivileged youth from Detroit who excelled in the sciences. Its mission is to coach and help high school students pursue a career in the sciences. The program has high school students performing science research and labs to demonstrate what job opportunities could lie in their future. Sadie also lent a hand in college applications for these students, as she was an expert in them!

At the time of her passing, she was teaching English in Toulouse, France. Sadie loved French—her third language—and was so excited for the opportunity. She was an engaging and personal instructor who was adored by her students and fellow teachers. We will also post videos on the tribute wall showing the light that Sadie was and her love for children and teaching.

It’s impossible to encapsulate Sadie’s life in one page. She was vibrant, kind, bold, hilarious, inspiring, and stunning. She had struggles as all do, but her dreams kept her moving forward. She was totally herself. Each family member and friend will carry memories of how Sadie laughed, spoke, danced, and celebrated life with us forever.

Family will receive friends on Sunday, January 15, from 2-8 PM at A.J. Desmond & Sons 2600 Crooks Rd. Troy, (248) 362-2500. An evening prayer service will be held at 7 PM and can be viewed by Live Stream. Please click on the Tribute Wall tab at the top of the page. Then click on the "Watch Now" button for the Live Webcast, approximately 5 minutes before the service is to begin. 

Funeral Mass Monday, January 16, 11 AM at St. Andrew Catholic Church 1400 Inglewood, Rochester. Visitation at Church will begin at 10:30 AM. St. Andrew's will also live stream the funeral Mass and that can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/W3UDGh7vXeQ

Final resting place Guardian Angel Cemetery, Rochester.

In lieu of flowers, Sadie’s family asks for donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. https://www.stjude.org/donate

Friends of the family have also set up a GoFundMe, which will contribute to a memorial that will be established in the near future. https://www.gofundme.com/f/sadievquinn