Obituary of Michael Quinn

Michael Quinn, a resident of Burlington for forty-one years, passed away on March 19, 2018 just two weeks shy of his 53rd birthday. Born in Woburn, the youngest of eight children, he was the son of Thomas and Margaret Quinn. Michael moved to his home in Burlington in 1977, where he lived a full life with a large network of friends. Mike worked for 27 years at Goodwill Industries in Salem until locating employment closer to home at Shore Collaborative in Woburn. Mike had an enthusiasm for life; quick to laugh, he possessed a mischievous sense of humor that brought joy to all who knew him well. He was a member of the Burnham Center Social Club, attending their many events. He enjoyed the solitary pursuit of listening to music, as well as the communal aspects of live musical performances. Weather watching was also a hobby, having an appreciation of the power of extreme weather events. Mike’s love of the water resulted in his vacations always including some combination of swimming, sailing and most recently, kayaking. He spent his summer vacations at Seabrook Beach, enjoying the surf, concerts, fireworks and cookouts. Mike was the son of the late Thomas and Margaret (Hahesy) Quinn. He was the brother of Thomas Quinn & his wife Regina of Germany, Margo Dunning & her husband Robert of Wilmington, James Quinn & his wife Patty of Santa Monica, CA, Robert Quinn & his wife Deborah of Lakeland, FL, Kathy Vasapolli & her husband Paul of Woburn, Joseph Quinn & his wife Jeanne of Bradford, and Patty Quinn & her husband James Guertin of Longmont, CO. He was also survived by many nieces, nephews, loving caretakers, and friends. A private visitation will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington for Michael’s family, friends, and caretakers on Friday, March 23, 2018 from 4-7 p.m. A private Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday March 24, 2018 at 10 a.m. at St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington and will conclude with a burial at Woodbrook Cemetery in Woburn. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Michael’s name may be made to Nexus, Inc., 888 Main Street, Woburn, MA 01801. For directions obituary & online guestbook see www.stmargaretburlington.org or www.sullivanfuneralhome.net Eulogy by Amanda Angell Good morning. As most of you know my name is Amanda Angell and I am the manager at Michael’s home. I had the joy of working very closely with Michael over the last few years. Michael was a spark of energy, enthusiasm and happiness. He also had some really really strong opinions. For example, he wanted to sit in the “front seat” every single time. The moment we discussed going somewhere in the car he would begin yelling “front seat” over and over again. Luckily his housemates, particularly Stephen, would normally oblige and we’d all be happy. Music was another non-negotiable with Michael. It was Michael Jackson or Bruce Springsteen ( Brucesteen as Michael would say) .. or else. I learned that lesson the hard way when I accidentally uploaded my new Adele CD to his iPod. He was so angry with me and kept telling me it was “stupid” and “broken”. As recently as last week Adele came on the radio in the car and he began screaming “next week”. For all of us that knew Michael when he didn’t want something, for example to take a shower or go to work, he would say “later”, “tomorrow” or “next week” to get his opinion across. Michael liked having the last word. Throughout my years working with Michael I had the privilege of hearing about his life from people that have spent decades working with him. Ed, John, Elizabeth and Brendan are just a few of the people that saw the contagious light in Michael and never gave up wanting the best for him in all areas of his life. As a young boy Michael was an avid camper and hiker - spending a lot of time outdoors. He also had a pretty great shot at the basketball hoop and never passed up a trip to the park to shoot hoops with his friends. The ocean, better known to Michael as the “big ocean” was probably his favorite place in the world. When I started working with Michael I didn’t believe my co workers when they said he loved the cold ocean water. Well Michael proved me wrong when he literally sat in the water screaming and laughing while the waves crashed over him. I remember grabbing onto his waist and screaming because in that moment I honestly thought we might get washed out to sea. This past summer at the beach Michael had slowed down a bit, but that didn’t stop him from sticking his toes in the cold water, staring out and feeling the breeze on his smiling face. I have to also mention that we basically had to carry him back to the house that afternoon because the sand was too hot for his feet and he was screaming “stay here” and pointing to his spot by the water. There truly was never a dull moment when Michael was around. My boss,John Heslin, wanted nothing more than for Michael to be adventurous and to be challenged. When I casually told John a few years back that I used to teach kids how to kayak when I was in college he insisted I take Michael. This was a tall task to get Michael to sit still on a small boat in the middle of Spot Pond, but I figured if it worked out we would have a pretty great memory and if it didn’t work out we’d be soaking wet and the coast guard would probably be involved. It was a risk I was willing to take with my best pal. That day on Spot Pond is marked in my memory as one of the best days of not only my career, but my life. Seeing Michael smile and laugh while he dragged his hand in the water still brings tears to my eyes. The famous picture of him has also brought happiness to so many others. People often ask me where Michael’s paddle was in that photo. Well as you can all imagine the minute it was handed to him he threw it about 10 feet into the pond and screamed “next week”. Typical Michael always getting his way. Michael attracted people everywhere he went. He was not always the easiest person to get along with, but that made it so much sweeter when he would belly laugh at something you said or ask you when you were coming back when you’d only just arrived. Michael loved companionship. His housemates, family, friends, staff, and even just the causal acquaintances in the community were all very important to him. He lived in the moment and was always pleased with himself when he got a rise out of someone. I know my loud voice was always cracking him up and he normally seemed pretty pleased by my dramatic reactions to his jokes. Ah his jokes. Michael didn’t have the best timing. He would occasionally call someone an expletive and then burst into laughter, but there was nothing worse than his complete obsession with calling people fat. I think there are a few of us here today who have talked our way out of an awkward encounter with a stranger who Michael accidentally , or maybe deliberately, offended. He loved scaring people, he loved the crashing of tree limbs during a storm or the pellets of rain on the windows. The weather itself fascinated him. Standing in the window watching the snow fall or staring at the weather reports were some of his favorite past times, which is something I recently learned he shared with his parents. Last week, while we all sat his bedside, I shared a story for the first time with some co-workers and a few of Mikes family members. And Michael ... I have to thank you right now for never telling anyone this story and getting me in big trouble at work. So here it goes....a few years back Mike and I went to a night club in Boston to see a “Brucesteen” cover band, comically called Bruce in the USA. We had the best time singing along and clapping and drinking several cokes. As we drove home on Mass Ave that night we were still listening to “Brucesteen” on my CD player. Yes, I admit to owning a “Brucesteen” CD. Well, I stopped at a red light and then proceeded to take a right turn when there was a huge sign saying no turn on red. As luck would have it a police officer was at the intersection and of course threw on his sirens and flashing lights to pull us over. Michael clearly thought this was amazing and started screaming at the top of his lungs.. well my reaction was complete fear and panic so in keeping with my dramatic tendencies I started to cry. I’m sure when the cop got to the window and saw me sobbing and Michael screaming he realized pretty quickly he wanted to get us the heck out of there. In between tears and screams I told him we had just seen “Brucesteen” and were just trying to get home. Thankfully he sent us away without a ticket. From there we headed straight to the McDonald’s drive thru and indulged in a large French fry. All these years I kept this secret and so did Michael. I’m not alone in my grief today. I had the privilege of getting to know Joe, Jeanne and Kathy over the years and so many other wonderful members of Mikes family this past week. Joe Quinn’s name will always be synonymous with presents to me because of his generousity to Mike. All I had to do was say “Hey Joe Quinn is coming over” and Mikes face would light up and he would start talking about how he was going to rip open presents. Seeing so many of his family here today would make Michael so happy. He wasn’t always a big fan of crowds but he sure did like attention. It’s hard to talk about Mike in the past tense. It doesn’t seem fair that he won’t be eating a “hamburger with cheese” or “Chinese food with chocolate cake” on his birthday next week...something we planned months ago. It’s difficult to cope with the idea that he won’t be at his home on Chestnut Avenue anymore. We won’t hear his laughs or cheers and we won’t see his bright smile. Luckily we can all still listen to “Brucesteen” and Michael Jackson and think of him or we can walk into the Dollar Store and recall how often he talked about wanting to go there. This past Sunday night Mikes sister Kathy arranged for a priest to come to the hospital and she and I were able to pray with Michael. Praying might not have been a part of his life, but I know it’s a huge part of the Quinn family’s life and so it seems fitting that Michael was praying on his last night. Thank you all for being here today to celebrate the “super guy”. He was a spark of magic and joy in my life and in so many people’s lives. He made me a better person and he truly was one of my best friends. I promise not to forget you Quinnie and we will all keep your spirit, your spunk and that smile in our hearts. See you soon super guy.