Austin Quinn Obituary

AUSTIN QUINN Austin Robert "Bob" Quinn, 80, of Henderson, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009. He was born March 7, 1928, in Omaha, Neb., and was a 22-year resident of Henderson. Bob was a retired building contractor and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. He was a 35-year member of the American Legion. Bob is survived by his wife, JoAnne "Mitzi" Quinn of Henderson; sons, Gregory (Sherry) Quinn of Papillion, Neb., Daniel (Carolyn) Quinn of Denver, and Bruce (Pam) Quinn of Omaha; daughters, Susan (Richard) Brown of Central City, Neb., and Mary McCreery of Ralston, Neb.; his brothers, Courtney, John and James Quinn; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Visitation will be 2-7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19, at Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway. Mass will be at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, at St. Peter the Apostle, Catholic Church, 204 S. Boulder Highway. Graveside service will follow at 1:20 p.m., at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 1900 Buchanan Blvd. in Boulder City. The family requests donations be made to St. Peter the Apostle, Catholic Church or a charity of their choice.

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Published by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jan. 18, 2009.

Memories and Condolences
for Austin Quinn

2 Entries

Bob Bathen

January 19, 2009

Bob Quinn, a true friend

Bob and I were the best of friends all through four years together as students (???) at Creighton Prep High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Father Flanagan, our red-headed Theology and English teacher at Prep (not the founder of Boys Town), once told us that if we made four true friends in our lifetime, we could consider ourselves fortunate. Bob Quinn was a true friend of mine.

Among other things, we played on the football team and boxed in the Midwest Golden Gloves as part of the CYO boxing team. On occasion, we also double dated, including one of the first, if not the first, date Bob had with his sweet wife of some 60 years, Mitzi.

When I asked her, “What is your real name Mitzi?” she got all huffy and replied, “Mitzi”. I said “No, what name is on your birth certificate?” Then she got really huffy and said, “MITZI!!!” It wasn’t until I just read Bob’s obituary in the Omaha World Herald that I learned her “real” name now is JoAnne, but to all of us who knew and loved them both over all these years, it was always Mitzi.

Bob and I had a lot of fun together at Prep and occasionally we got into a “little” trouble, if you can call having Father Henry Sullivan SJ kick you out of school for skipping Sodality and going over to Walt Beal’s Grill a “little” trouble. Also, a “little” trouble might include getting into a street fight in Lincoln, Nebraska during the state championship week when Bob tried to prove his often stated philosophy that “Bathen, neither you nor I could whip a wimp alone, but back-to-back we can whip a whole bunch of tough guys”. That philosophy got us in a whole lot of trouble. It got my brother, John, a broken nose and got me a lot of knots on my head, but as I remember, Bob came out of it unscathed.

I see from the obituary that Bob and Mitzi have been blessed with a wonderful family (5 children, 12 grands and 5 great-grands), as have my wife, Eileen, and I (7 children, 10 grands and 3 great-grands).

Bob served in the Marines beginning in 1946 and I served in the Army during the Korean War from 1950 – 1952. Eileen and I haven’t lived in Omaha since 1953, having finished college in 1957 and worked for the same consulting engineering firm in Columbus, Nebraska, Seattle, Denver and Orlando, Florida (the latter since 1965), retiring finally in August 2007 after 50 years. Therefore, we haven’t had much contact with Bob and Mitzi except for an occasional visit while in Las Vegas and an occasional phone call, plus regular annual exchanges of Christmas cards that included notes or letters. However, there is always a warm place in one’s heart for really dear friends, as there has been with us for them.

We wish Mitzi and the whole Quinn family our deepest sympathy for the loss of a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother. I hope they all take consolation in knowing that when Bob faced his Maker he was welcomed with open arms and a sure greeting “Well done, good and faithful Servant, enter the Gates of Heaven for life eternal”.

Bob Bathen, Creighton Prep Class of 1946