Charles M. Quinn

Charles M. Quinn died unexpectedly on November 22, 2015 in Kissimmee. He is survived by his wife of 52 years Rochelle and his four children, Sean (Ann), Andy, Heather (Don), and Todd (Lea). He is also survived by his two brothers, Ron and Steve, his three grandchildren, Matt, Rachel, and Kayla, his sister-in-law Diane (Ron), many nieces and nephews, and several other members of his extended family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Irene, and his in-laws, Harvey and Evelyn. Chuck was born in December 1939 in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with his BA in History. He later earned two masters degrees from Pitt in Education and in History. Finally he earned his Doctorate of Arts degree in History from Carnegie Mellon University, also in Pittsburgh. Chuck was a teacher his entire life. He taught high school briefly before becoming a college professor for many years. Near the end of his career he taught in a correctional institution, taking great pride in teaching several illiterate individuals to read and to eventually earn high school diplomas. He often spoke of teaching these students to read to their children. He instituted a program that recorded inmates reading books to be heard later by their kids. He even created a special “parenting” class for the inmates so that upon release they could not only read to their kids, but be better fathers and role models. Even after “retiring” from teaching, he continued to teach community education classes in Pittsburgh, then in Celebration and Solivita, Florida, where he lived the last two years of his life. He was a fervent reader and prided himself on being well-informed individual and teacher. He was teaching an American History class at the time of his last illness, and had 2-3 books he was reading on the topic to gain even more insight to share with his students. He also spent years coaching youth sports and later umpiring/refereeing, from the youth to the college level. His was active in progressive politics throughout his life. His family was a great source of pride to Chuck, and they will miss him tremendously. He loved sharing his passion for sports, comedy, music, and history, among others with his family. They will miss his infectious laugh, his story telling, and his occasional moments of “inadvertent” lapses that resulted in him being the butt of inside, but good-hearted jokes. At the families request donations may be made to the Moffitt Cancer Center www.moffitt.org, or the Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org, or the Agape Food Bank 625 McCue Rd. #2 Lakeland, Florida 33815

Charles M. Quinn

December 7, 1939 - November 22, 2015