[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 167 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF JOSEPH EUGENE QUINN

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                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 16, 2010

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues Mr. 
Cardoza, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Langevin and Mr. Neal, to pay tribute to Mr. 
Joseph Eugene Quinn who passed away on December 3, 2010 at the age of 
seventy. Mr. Quinn was an extraordinary man who will long be 
remembered.
  Joseph Eugene Quinn was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on March 1, 
1940, the third of four sons to the late Joseph L. and Mary E. Quinn. 
Joseph Eugene, known as Gene by friends and family, attended St. 
Raphael Academy in Pawtucket and excelled on the football and 
basketball teams. He graduated from Providence College in 1960 and 
maintained a life-long commitment to the intellectual and spiritual 
traditions of the Dominican Order.
  After graduation, Gene enlisted in the United States Army. While 
serving in the military, he travelled extensively and befriended a wide 
spectrum of people who delighted in exchanging viewpoints on religion, 
politics and sports.
  After his discharge from the Army, Gene moved to Largo, Florida where 
he became president of Bardmoor Country Club, a real estate and resort 
development. Gene later moved to Washington, DC and worked on Ronald 
Reagan's reelection bid in 1984. Mr. Quinn went on to hold a series of 
increasingly important positions with the Federal Government, and being 
a fond admirer of President Reagan, he took great pride later in his 
career when telling friends that he worked in the Ronald Reagan 
Building. At the time of his passing, Gene was an international trade 
specialist and project officer for Global Trade Programs at the U.S. 
Department of Commerce.
  Although Mr. Quinn lived in the Washington area for three decades he 
considered Rhode Island his home and always enjoyed spending summers 
there.
  Mr. Quinn leaves behind his loving wife, Marguerite Slocum Quinn, to 
whom he was married twenty-three years. They were both founding members 
of the Anacostia Gracious Arts Program, an urban afterschool arts 
program for underprivileged youth in Washington. Gene was also a member 
of the Spouting Rock Beach Association in Newport, RI, the Clambake 
Club of Newport, the Providence College Alumni Association, and the 
American Ireland Fund.
  In addition to his wife, Mr. Quinn is survived by his daughter, Tara, 
her husband Andrew Reilly, and his grandchildren, Andrew and Fiona of 
Middletown, RI. He is also survived by his brothers, Paul of McLean, 
VA, Thomas of Washington, DC, Francis of New York City, and their 
families.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join Mr. Cardoza, Mr. Kennedy, 
Mr. Langevin, Mr. Neal and I in remembering the life of this remarkable 
man as we offer our condolences to his family and celebrate his memory 
and service to our country.

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