Hundreds Gather to Raise Funds for Quinn

WILDWOOD – Hundreds came to the Bolero Hotel Feb. 9 to raise funds for one of Wildwood’s own, Thomas Quinn.
Quinn, of Chincoteague Island, VA, passed away Feb. 4 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. Treated at Cancer Treatment Center of America in Philadelphia, a beef and beer was held to help offset the cost of travel between Quinn’s Virginia home and the hospital.
“He wanted to attend the beef and beer,” said Vince DePrinzio, an organizer of the event, adding planning for the fundraiser began in December, however Quinn’s condition deteriorated. “Unfortunately Tommy passed away 5 days before the event,” said DePrinzio.
Quinn’s roots in Wildwood and in Cape May County ran deep. Born in Court House, he was a 1972 graduate of Wildwood High School. Immediately after graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Earning the rank of sergeant he returned to Wildwood in 1976 after being honorably discharged.
Quinn served as a police officer in Wildwood as well as a corrections officer for the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office. He retired as a Lower Township police officer in 1994. Never far from the water and his love of the outdoors, he and his family moved to Chincoteague Island in 1997 where he opened his business, Quinn’s Taxidermy.
“He was a member of American Legion Post 184,” said DePrinzio, “And a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Post 955 in Wildwood.”
Support from both veterans’ organizations as well as from the community at large, including the Wildwood and Lower Township police departments, helped raise $12,700.
According to DePrinzio, a large draw at the beef and beer was an auction with John Lynch, Director of Marketing for the Wildwoods Convention Center, acting as auctioneer. Auctioned items included donated sports memorabilia from the Phillies and Eagles as well as a plaque from baseball great Babe Ruth.
“We had 340 people,” noted DePrinzio. “The community really came out and supported the event.”
“Tommy was born and raised in the City of Wildwood,” said Mayor Ernie Troiano. “He and his family were police officers and served this city well. I knew Tommy through growing up here in Wildwood. He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone. He was just a great guy to be around. The loss of this great man is just another thread in our community’s blanket that is gone.”
“He was a good guy,” said DePrinzio. “Besides being a police officer, he did a lot of community service here and in Virginia. Every life he touched, the person loved him.”
DePrinzio said several organizers of the beef and beer will be going to Chincoteague Island to visit with the family and deliver a check. Donations are still be accepted by mail at the following address: American Legion Post 184; PO Box 1405; Wildwood, NJ 08260. Please note “Tom Quinn” in the memo line.
Quinn is survived by his wife of 41 years, Debra (nee Sinn); his daughter Rebecca Stevens and her husband James of Chincoteague; his son William Quinn of Quantico, VA; two grandchildren, JR and Mikaela Stevens; his father Charles E. Quinn and his brother Charles W. Quinn. Funeral services were held in both Chincoteague and Cape May Court House. Quinn was laid to rest in Cold Spring Cemetery.