Max C. Qualley

1925 - 2005

Max Qualley taught music in Adventist schools for 20 years. He started his career teaching band, choir, and instruments at Denver Junior Academy and subsequently taught at Loma Linda, Armona Union, Chisolm Trail, Tri-Cities Junior, and Mount Lake Terrace Junior academies.

Qualley was born in Carnation, Washington. He attended Yakima Valley Academy where he was drafted into the army in 1944, during his senior year. He served in Belgium and France and was discharged in 1946. A singer and brass performer, he graduated from Walla Walla College in 1954 as a music major with tuba as his performing area, the first person to give a senior recital on the instrument.

After he left teaching, he and his wife, Barbara, worked for Adventist Media Center in Newbury Park, California. He retired in 1988 and moved to Buhl, Idaho, where he sang in a large chorale in Twin Falls and gave private lessons to students at the Adventist church school.

The Qualleys moved to Walla Walla, Washington, in 1992. A talented and enthusiastic person with high standards in music, Qualley continued to make music with music groups in the area, playing either tuba, euphonium, or trombone. One of his most satisfying musical endeavors was working with the Walla Walla Valley Trombone Choir, a group he founded and conducted.

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Source: Obituary, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, March 2005.