John M. Quiggins, 55, of Owensboro, Kentucky, passed away Friday, May 30, 2025, at home with his wife by his side. John Michael Quiggins was born March 31, 1970, in Owensboro to the late John R. Quiggins and Diamond Quiggins. He was a 1988 graduate of Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana, and enjoyed a 38-year career as a wedding and live party DJ. Music always weaved an important thread throughout John’s life. He was a marvelous singer, songwriter and published poet. After his first wife, Karin Folsom Quiggins, died of multiple sclerosis at age 39 in 2011, he threw himself into music to cope with the loss. He went from playing other people’s music to making his own, going on to write dozens of songs under the creative name Sole Fish. “Some good, some better, and some I think have a chance to go somewhere,” he wrote about his music catalog in a 2012 comment on one of several videos of his music uploaded to YouTube. “Strangely, I use nothing but pre-recorded loops. I am a digital artist. Of course, I sing and write and compose it all.” Around the same time, he was rediscovering his love for creating music, he also rediscovered love itself when he met Carol Smith. Throughout his life, when he wasn’t spinning tunes as a DJ or creating them as Sole Fish, he was simply enjoying music by listening to vinyl records – usually right beside Carol. John was the best man Carol had ever met – loving, caring, warm, outgoing, very smart, generous, kind and delightfully creative. They were soulmates and became fast best friends. From his song “I’ve Seen God,” which he dedicated to Carol, calling her “the most amazing woman I’ve ever had the honor to know”:
“I’ve seen God in you
When I look into your eyes
I see everything
I see the rest of my life
When I hold your hand
Like a teenage boy
I know how lucky I am
Just to hear the sound of your voice.”
He and Carol Smith wed in May 2022 – and in that same year, the diagnosis that would change everything. John was told he had ALS, the progressive neurodegenerative disease commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In a short time, the disease rapidly took hold of his body, bit by bit. And it was coming for his voice. He faced the reality that he would no longer be able to sing when he wrote the poem “Words Escape Me” in 2023 about ALS.
“The first losses were basic
What everyone goes through.
A little here and there
Age does what age must do.
But now, words escape me.
No I haven’t lost my voice.
Not yet.
But it seems to be fading
Like a distant sunset.”
By the end, he spoke with words so weak that only Carol could understand. And when even she couldn’t, they got by with hand signals and a whole lot of love. Thankfully, we still have John’s words. And though he left us quietly, his message is still heard.
“I’m happy.
I’m in love.
I’m in gratitude.
I live by faith.
I have no regrets.”
In addition to wife Carol, John leaves a family he loved deeply: His adult sons, Jacob Quiggins, William Miller (Jessica), Thomas Miller (Rachael), and Edward Howell (Courtney); grandchildren, Mark Miller, Kaleigh Miller, Emma Miller, Jalyn Freels, Lorelai Miller, Lily Griswold, and Cohen Miller; great-grandchildren, Blaklynn, Brooks and Baylen Miller; siblings, Johnny Quiggins, David Quiggins, and Cindy Quiggins Tutt; and his dearest friend since second grade, Nelson.
The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of donations to the Oasis Women’s Shelter, 1631 Breckenridge St., Owensboro, KY 42303, a cause dear to John.
A private memorial service will be held to honor and celebrate John’s life.
Care entrusted to Cardinal Cremation Society.