Educator, coach, WBA School Board member John Quinn dies

Longtime Wilkes-Barre Area educator, high school coach and school board member John Quinn passed away Monday.

School Board Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said Superintendent Brian Costello shared the news with members of the school board Monday evening.

Quinn initially worked as a teacher and basketball coach at the former Wilkes-Barre Township High School, an historic attachment that made him a frequent and at times fierce advocate for township residents and students after he won a seat on the school board in 2011, coming on board after a sweeping federal corruption probe nabbed numerous area government officials, including three Wilkes-Barre Area School Board members. He won reelection every four years since.

He graduated from Wilkes-Barre Township High School in 1966.

Wilkes-Barre Area School Board president Joe Caffrey said that Quinn was instrumental in steering the district forward through the years he served, both as a coach and on the board.

“John loved the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. He was a part of the community here for almost five decades,” Caffrey said. “He was an educator, he was a coach and in all of his roles, he was very passionate. … He made a great impact on a lot of us.”

Caffrey said that he was “heartbroken” to learn of Quinn’s passing, referring to Quinn as both a friend and a mentor.

“He was always very generous toward me. … I will miss him greatly,” Caffrey said.

Fellow board member Denise Thomas shared Caffrey’s sentiments, saying that Quinn was a huge help to her and a driving force for success in the district.

“John taught me so much on the school board,” Thomas said. “He loved to see the district excel.”

On the school board, Quinn joined the majority that prompted a great deal of public resistance by voting to initially consolidate Meyers and Coughlin high schools into a new building at the Coughlin site, but that proposal died after the district failed to get needed zoning approval from Wilkes-Barre City.

Quinn again joined the majority in voting to consolidate the two schools and GAR Memorial in a new building in Plains Township.

“John was at the forefront of the consolidation,” said Wilkes-Barre Area Athletic Director Simon Peter. “He certainly had an impact and was a pioneer in moving our school district forward.”

Peter spoke to Quinn’s legacy not just as a basketball coach, but also of his skill coaching on the baseball diamond, where he served stints as head coach at both the former Wilkes-Barre Township High School but also at Coughlin.

“He was a wonderful coach,” Peter said. “He was a special human being.”

A member of the 2000 class inducted into the Luzerne County Sports Hall of Fame, Quinn won more than 350 games in his days as a basketball coach, including the first Wyoming Valley Conference title in Coughlin history when his 1998 basketball team won the conference crown.

He took his teams to 16 appearances in the District II playoffs, and was selected Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1998.

Longtime PIAA official Bruce Weinstock got a front-row seat to watch Quinn work the sidelines at Coughlin over the years.

“He was an extremely unique character, one of the colorful characters in the history of sports in the area,” Weinstock said. “His intellect, his knowledge of the game was off the charts.”

Weinstock recounted Quinn as tough on the sidelines, but a man who was respected by both his players, opposing coaches and the officials who worked his games.

“He knew all of our officials’ personalities, all of their styles. … You had to be fully prepared for him,” Weinstock said. “The game was different after he was gone.”

Even after his retirement from coaching, Quinn was still a familiar presence at many high school basketball games around the area, a testament to his love for the game.

Quinn survived to see the new Wilkes-Barre Area High School building open this past fall, but was having health problems for years and became largely inactive in recent months, missing school board meetings. He also supported the construction of a new multi-purpose field and stadium under construction, expected to be in use for the coming fall sports season.

He was remembered by all as a great coach, great educator, great friend and great family man who loved his wife, Betty, their three children and their grandchildren.

“He was passionate in all his roles, but most passionate about his family,” Caffrey said, with Thomas adding that Quinn “was a great family man.”

Everyone reached for comment agreed: Quinn would be sorely missed.

“There aren’t too many like John,” Weinstock said. “It’s a sad day.”

Under state law, the school board gets the first attempt to name a replacement. If the board can’t agree within 30 days on a candidate, the decision would go to a Luzerne County judge.