Quinlan Michael Hampston, “Mike,” died in the early morning of January 3, 2026. He celebrated his final birthday on December 25, 2025. He was born prematurely to Marguerite Hampston, a homemaker and John Hampston, a WW2 ship builder, on Christmas Day, 1943 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth MN. He was always called Mike.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 20 years, Sharon “Rosie” Salo, his sons Robert Hampston (Char) and John D.Hampston born from his marriage to their mother Linda Edstrom Hampston, now deceased. Also surviving are sisters Claudia Daly (Stan Kusunoki) and Mary Kay (Kitty) Kanninen (Ben.) Mike was preceded in death by his parents, his brother John (Jack, aka “The King”) Hampston and his nephew, Sean Daly.
Mike grew up in St. Jean Baptiste Catholic parish in the West End. He attended St. Jean’s school and Lincoln Junior High but departed academics due to a learning disability, joining the Navy at 17. He was a cook and baker on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga, during the Vietnam War. He also served during the first Gulf War where proximity to the burn pits left him with emphysema that plagued him for the rest of his life.
Despite setbacks, Mike Hampston lived a remarkable life. At just 10, he hosted a Saturday morning TV show on Channel 3 (then KDAL-TV) in Duluth. His character, Timmy Tyler, presented six minutes of commercials over the course of the hour-long cartoon program. Despite his reading problem, Mike’s sharp memory (and his mother’s coaching) allowed him to deliver the messages flawlessly.
Before the Navy, Mike learned the craft of baking at Ed’s Bakery in the West End. Baking in the Navy refined his skills and after his discharge, he ran his own bake shop. Later, Mike and a friend, Ray T. Ward, created a downtown bar, R.T. Quinlan’s. Over the years that Mike and Ray ran Quinlan’s, it was thought of as the “Cheers” of Duluth, hosting wakes and weddings and reunions of all kinds, plus serving a regular, loyal clientele.
Somewhere along the way, Mike picked up the nickname, “Prince,” a good moniker for the brother of Jack ‘the King” and son of Marguerite, who was often called “the Queen.” In his mother’s last years, when she lived in care at the Benedictine Center, Mike read to her every weeknight until her death in 2011. The number of books they covered was more than 50.
For all their time together, his dear wife Rosie brought Mike love and joy. Her music, intelligence and kindness lit up his life. And she encouraged him to write.
That experience took him to his next project. Rosie supplied him with a stack of yellow legal pads and a row of sharpened No. 2 pencils, and he began to write the outrageous, poignant, heartbreaking stories of his life. The notebook pages became a manuscript, and the manuscript became a self-published memoir, Swinging Doors.
One thread in the book unlocks its most important story: It’s about how Mr. Johnson, a special education teacher turned Navy seaman, identifies Mike’s dyslexia and teaches him to read. It’s conceivable that this single act of generosity formed the man the 17-year-old sailor would become.
Beyond his immediate family, Mike ’s death also leaves a caring extended family including nephews Patrick and Michael Daly, niece Rebecca Kanninen and nephew Daniel Kanninen. He leaves many, many friends but especially Willie and JoAnn Mattson, Al Drang with whom he had a 70-year friendship, Clay Odden, and Mary Alvar. He will also be missed by Rosie’s family: Her sons Jody Ricci and Adam, Jess and Cody Kruchoski as well as his sister-in-law Sally Baratto.
A Celebration of Life for Mike will be held at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2430 West 3rd Street in Duluth, on Thursday, January 8th. Visitation at the Church that same morning begins at 10. Family will gather at 9:30. Following the Mass and funeral service, lunch will be served at the Church. After that, family will accompany Mike to the Minnesota State Veteran’s Cemetery for burial.
Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home. Memorial gifts preferred to Essentia Hospice or the Benedictine Foundation.
Rest in peace, Quinlan Michael Hampston.
