A La Porte County Life in the Spotlight: Eileen Quigley
- By: Claire Kenney
- Last Updated: July 1, 2026
As an active community member, Eileen Quigley loves a lot about La Porte County. One of her favorite aspects of the area is Lake Michigan.
“I go to the lake every day because it’s so beautiful,” said Quigley. “It’s part of my fitness routine — every morning I go for a walk on the lakefront.”
Quigley also regularly attends fitness classes at the nearby YMCA, and enjoys playing golf.
“I don’t play a good game of golf; I play a mean game,” said Quigley. “I used to play at Briar Leaf quite a bit, but they just closed this year, so I’m playing in Grand Beach, Michigan. I played a municipal course in Michigan City.”
Quigley’s 95-year-old mother lives in the area. The two are nearly inseparable.
“She entertains me just about as much as I entertain her,” Quigley said.
Quigley will often rent pontoon boats with friends at Pine Lake. Like Lake Michigan, Pine Lake also has a special place in her heart.
Growing up in Libertyville, Illinois, she attended Cornell College, a small school in Iowa with about 1,000 students before eventually moving to La Porte County.
Quigley has a background in finance and serves as the VP of Lending with Guaranteed Rate Affinity. In her role, she facilitates loans for residents and companies in Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois.
She segues her background in finance to give back to others in need locally. Five to 10 hours a week, she volunteers at the local Habitat for Humanity as a qualified loan officer.
“When families and individuals apply for Habitat for Humanity’s assistance, I go through their financials,” Quigley said. “I go through a partnership agreement with them so that they have an understanding that this is not just a handout and I want to make sure that they’re qualified to take on this home ownership.”
Individuals and families that are awarded assistance must help to build their own home, submit a small financial commitment, and take financial classes.
“There are classes that they need to take so that they understand the financial aspect, particularly because all of these people are going from rental to home ownership and so there’s a lot that goes with that transition,” said Quigley. “Its not a free home; it’s a home that they have to put 250 hours of sweat equity into. They have to make a financial commitment by the time we are ready to close, which means they not only pay in part for their own home, but they build other their home as well in order to get their sweat equity.”
Ultimately, Quigley wants those awarded the grant to understand the finances behind it.
“My main focus is to qualify them financially to make sure that this is something that they would be successful in,” said Quigley.
Quigley is dedicated to so many around her, including her mother, those less fortunate, and her colleagues. It’s evident that she is an active member of the La Porte County community and cares deeply for it.