Rev. Joseph M. Quinn

EASTON, Mass. -- The Rev. Joseph M. Quinn passed away peacefully at Holy Cross House at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday, July 18, 2007.

Father Quinn was born in Pittsfield on July 14, 1923, the son of Michael Quinn and Anna Poppor. He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1942 and made his first profession of vows in 1944. Following studies at Our Lady of Holy Cross Seminary in Easton and the University of Notre Dame, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 1950.

Following ordination he was assigned from 1950 to 1955 to assist the Rev. Patrick Peyton as associate director of the Family Rosary Crusade in Albany, N.Y. In 1955 he was named the vocation director for the Eastern Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. In 1957, he returned to the Family Rosary Crusade, where he remained until 1968.

During his time with Family Rosary, he traveled extensively around the world preparing for the Family Rosary Crusades in Australia, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

In 1969, he began a long period of pastoral service in parish ministry: from 1969 to 1972, as assistant at St. Joseph Parish in the Bronx, N.Y.; from 1972 to 1989 as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bennington, Vt.; from 1990 to 2000, as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Wallingford, Vt.

In 2000, he was granted senior status and moved to the Holy Cross Residence in North Dartmouth, Mass., where he continued to be active in ministry, assisting in neighboring parishes. In August of 2006, due to declining health, he moved to Holy Cross House, the congregational infirmary on the campus of Notre Dame.

Father Quinn will be remembered as a kind and compassionate priest, friendly and outgoing, easy to be with. He delighted in the warm relationship which he sustained with his large family. He performed countless baptisms, first communions, and weddings of his family members, and his ministry spanned their generations. He was also noted for being an avid Boston Red Sox and Notre Dame football fan.

He is mourned by his religious brothers in the Congregation of Holy Cross who valued him as a dedicated and zealous priest, and a generous participant in their community life.

Father Quinn is survived by his brother, Thomas Quinn of Maine, and his wife Edna, and by his brother-in-law, George Tagliente. He was preceded in death by his sisters Elaine (Quinn) Tagliente and Mary (Quinn) Gaffney, and his brother, William Quinn.

He was the beloved uncle of Linda Gaffney and Michael Gaffney, Karen Quinn, Timothy Quinn, Patricia Rudd, Joseph Quinn, Stephen Quinn, Bridget DiCarlo, Michael Quinn, Edward Quinn, Colleen Snyder, Erin Stitt, Kelly LeBarron, Anne O’Connor, George Tagliente, Christine Roche, Peter Tagliente, James Tagliente and Patrick Tagliente. He was preceded in death by his nephews Daniel Tagliente and John Tagliente. He is survived by numerous grandnieces and grandnephews who also mourn his loss.

Father Quinn will be waked at the Chapel of Mary at Stonehill College in Easton on Monday, July 23, 2007, from 7 to 9 p. m. A wake service will be held at 8:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the chapel at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Internment will follow at the Holy Cross Community Cemetery on the Stonehill Campus.

Arrangements are by the Kane Funeral Home 605 Washington St., Easton.