Michael J. Quinn, Jr.

Michael John Quinn, Jr., 69 years of age, of Centennial, Colorado, passed away on June 7, 2013, surrounded by his family. Born April 18, 1944 in New York, New York, Michael was the youngest child of Kathleen (Farrelly) Quinn and Michael John Quinn, Sr., who emigrated from Ireland to the United States in the 1930s. Both parents preceded him in death. Michael attended Saint Sebastian grammar school and Mongsignor McClancy Memorial High School, graduating in 1961. He graduated with a baccalaureate degree in biology from St. John's University in 1965. Michael met his wife, Tracy, in 1961 through mutual friends while hanging out at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. They married in 1967 and were married for 45 years. Michael and Tracy lived in New York, Puerto Rico and Colorado. They enjoyed the many trips they made back east to visit with friends and family and to Ireland, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida and throughout the beautiful Colorado mountains. In 1966, Michael started a long career in public service working for the Food and Drug Administration. He retired in 2006 as a supervisory investigator, having received numerous awards for service, performance and management. He spent 12 years in the private sector as a compliance officer and director of regulatory affairs at Teletronics and Spectranetics. He was known for saying ""always be on the right side of the angels"" – it was his goal to protect the health of the public in all endeavors. Michael was an avid reader of fiction and non-fiction and loved Irish music, the theater, opera and symphony, gardening, fishing, the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies, Colorado sunsets and indulging his seven grandchildren. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988, Michael lived to the best of his capacity and worked to maintain a normal family and work life while living with this chronic disease. He was diagnosed and treated for ocular melanoma in 2005, which metastasized this spring. Michael is survived by his wife, Tracy; daughters, Jennifer Lobb (Dan), Carolyn Quinn (Stephen Uhlhorn), Colleen Church (Ben) and son, Michael Francis Quinn; grandchildren Jacob, Kelsey and Patrick Lobb, Christopher and Caitlin Uhlhorn, and Zoe and Ian Church; his sister, Kathleen Thomas; and several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews in New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Ireland. Michael will be remembered for his resilience, fortitude, character, stubbornness and love for his family. A Funeral Mass for Michael will be held on Thursday, June 13, 2013, at 10:30 AM at All Souls Catholic Church, 4950 S. Logan Street, Englewood, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages gifts in Michael's name to the National MS Society to continue research funding for MS and to support those who live with the disease. Donations in his honor can be made at: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MichaelJQuinn or to: National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 900 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80209 Please leave condolences and share memories by signing the guestbook.