By Olivia Yepez
If anyone was going to be one of the “Shamrock Four,” it was Mike Quinn.
His shenanigans painting shamrocks on Morristown’s streets ahead of the 1991 Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade got him an introduction to local law enforcement, and a place in Irish American folklore.
“The Mike I knew always had a twinkle in his eye,” said Pam Johnson, who for years teamed with her sister Mary as parade announcers.
Quinn died at his Chester home earlier this month of causes unrelated to the coronavirus. He was 74.
Quinn had painted the shamrocks in hopes they would draw attention to the parade. Organized by the Irish American Association of Northwest New Jersey and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the event was making its debut in Morristown after years in Wharton.
Since then, the shamrocks have become tradition. “His brush with the law was something that he was proud of,” said longtime parade committee member Robyn Quinn, no relation.
“He was funny and kind and passionate about the Irish in New Jersey, especially,” spending “endless time and energy” sharing his knowledge of Irish culture, Johnson said.
He even looked like a leprechaun, parade volunteer Theresa Davis once observed.
Born Thomas Michael Quinn in Quantico, VA, he shared the same surname as another member of the Friendly Sons, Michael J. Quinn.
The two had a running joke that T. Mike Quinn was “The Original Michael Quinn” and Mike J. Quinn, “The Good Michael Quinn,” so people wouldn’t confuse them. The pair are pictured on the “good” Quinn’s Facebook page sporting kilts and showing off their legs.
“He made me feel very welcome in a group full of strangers,” said Mike J. Quinn, recalling his first day at the Friendly Sons 25 years ago. He had met his opposite number the day before at a function where they noticed their matching name tags.
Even with the nicknames, the two Mikes still got mixed up here and there. Mike J. Quinn said that when T. Mike Quinn was nominated to be the 2017 Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Parade, the letter went to him first. They had a good laugh about that later.
When he learned of his parade honor, T. Mike Quinn told Morristown Green, “I couldn’t talk, I was so emotional.” It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he said.
A few years earlier, he successfully pushed to add a pre-parade program of music, historical talks — and shamrock-painting of the streets, by local kids.
Quinn was one of three former grand marshals who passed away in the same week. Jim “Hambone” Hennessey, 85, died on April 17, and Mike Griffin, 80, passed away on April 14.
Part of Quinn’s childhood was spent on the same West Orange street where future parade Grand Marshals Jimmy Dangler and John Butler grew up. Quinn attended high school in West Palm Beach, FL, and served in the Marine Corps, as his parents did.
He studied at the Dwight Stark School of Art, and later took up electrical engineering. He worked as a designer and electrician before starting his own interior design business, where he worked for three decades.
Quinn and his wife Jacquelyn enjoyed touring the country in their motor home after his retirement in 2014.
As a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Quinn joined rebuilding efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He also was passionate about firefighting– he was a volunteer in Florham Park and Morristown, where he served with the fire bureau’s Humane Engine Company.
Firefighters, police and parade organizers honored Quinn last week with a memorial procession past the funeral home in Morris Plains; traditional services are prohibited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I became a member of the fire department, he told me ‘Whatever you need, I’m here to make this happen,’” said Morristown Fire Chief Robert Flanagan, who remembered Quinn as an outgoing guy “who got things done, made things happen.”
The description is fitting. Quinn’s favorite saying, on his wall at home, was: Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Thomas Michael Quinn is survived by his wife Jacquelyn (nee Swetz); children Brian Michael Quinn and his wife, Ines Quinn and Amy Jacquelyn Quinn. He also is survived by a grandson, Zachary Michael Ryan Quinn; a sister, Patricia Ann Walkup; and many nieces and nephews. Mike is predeceased by his brother, Mark Quinn.
A memorial service may be held in the future. The family asks that any donations in Quinn’s memory be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 5028, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5028, or online.
Kevin Coughlin contributed to this report.
