John L. Quinn, was born a stone’s throw from the Great Passaic Falls in Paterson New Jersey, then “Silk City,” an Irish enclave, where his great-grandfather first settled in the United States. He was the son of John Leo and Livina Reilly Quinn. When he reached working age, Jack opted not to join Quinn Bros., the family plumbing supply business. His true calling was math and science.
He pursued studies at Stevens Institute of Technology on the Western Shore of the Hudson, received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from New York University, and went on to a lifelong career in engineering at Bell Laboratories, keeping our telecom system firing on all cylinders.
His work took him from New York City to Santa Monica, then the Midwest, where he met his cherished love, Kathy, and ultimately raised five children alongside the pastoral Willowbrook Wildlife Preserve in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He enjoyed a well-deserved retirement that spanned several decades, blessed to share so much time with family and great friends in Glen Ellyn and The Villages, in Florida.
Jack was fondly referred to as “Mr. Science” within the neighborhood Trivia club, where he always swept that category. As his children grew, Jack worked tirelessly to pass on his formidable science and math skills. He did so with an approximate 67.2% success rate, as Kathy’s artistic genes proved a powerful match for that mathematical DNA.
The family vacationed regularly on the East Coast, along the Jersey Shore, where Jack was famously fully clothed, even in the ocean. The sun was no match for his always-on beach shirts, hats, sunglasses and copious quantities of zinc oxide. He died proudly knowing skin cancer didn’t get him! If only we could have protected his bone marrow with matching zeal.
Despite claims of being allergic to animals “both physically and mentally,” Jack cared immensely for his childhood dog Taffy, Max the wonder-cat, and longtime companion Sandy the Cocker Spaniel. When she could no longer climb stairs, he dutifully carried his pup upstairs every night to sleep near their bed.
Preceded in death by his sister Rosanna, Jack leaves behind his loving wife Kathy and sister Patricia. He also leaves behind his children, John, Erin, Brian, Megan and Mike and their spouses Sharon, Wes, Elaine, Steve and Trisha. Along with cherished grandchildren Clare, Abby, Quinn, Logan, Hannah, Connor and Emily. Not to mention grand-pets Ruby, Dash, Mamacita, Silas, Mini, Marshall and Andre. Achoo! and God Bless Jack. We’ll forever miss you.
Jack’s wake will be held at Williams-Kampp funeral home on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 430 E. Roosevelt Road, Wheaton IL, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The funeral will take place June 3, 2026, at St. Michael’s Church in Wheaton, IL at 10 a.m., at 310 S. Wheaton Ave, Wheaton, IL. Burial will follow at St. Michael Cemetery in Wheaton.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in Jack’s memory to St. James the Apostle School, 490 S. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn Il 60137.