James R. Quinn, MD

James Rowland Quinn, MD—Jim—died on October 18, 2021. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 30, 1923, son of James Rowland Quinn and Lenore Bookmyer Quinn. He graduated from Baldwin High School in Birmingham, Michigan in 1940, and from the University of Michigan in 1943. After serving in the military, he attended the University of Michigan Medical School, graduating in 1949. He completed his internship at University Hospital in Ann Arbor in 1950 and his ophthalmology resident training at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 1953.

Jim and Ellen Irene Hiltula were married in 1947 and had four children: Mary Ellen (Kenneth) Alexander, Maureen Louise (Bruce) Utz, James Murray (Anita Horn) Quinn, and Thomas Rowland (Lisa Milne) Quinn. In 1953, Jim set up private practice in Pontiac, Michigan. Later, he recalled how he borrowed $500 to open a small office and buy some equipment. He sent out notices and waited for several months for patients to come; then, one day, he saw that his appointment book was full. That was the start of a busy career. In 2011, Jim was honored by St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Oakland for 55 years of service and dedication. In his rare off hours, he enjoyed reading, following University of Michigan football, playing golf, and skiing; Jim served as an Alpine official for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. In 1965 and 1967 he volunteered to go to Haiti as an ophthalmologist for Project Hope, an international health-care organization, and was stationed in a remote jungle hospital. He had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances; his family used to joke about the fact that everywhere Jim went, he ran into someone he knew.

A colleague once described Jim as being a pillar, personally and professionally. He was a loving father to his children; Grandfather Jim to Christine (Paul Trieu) Utz, Lindsey (Adam) Brooks, Anthony King, and Hayley Quinn; and great grandfather to Sienna Brooks. His family will remember him as being ready with a joke or pun, open to new experiences, and independent minded to the end.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, May 27, 2022 at 11 AM, with gathering beginning at 10:30 AM, at St. Hugo of the Hills Stone Chapel, 2215 Opdyke Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304.

In lieu of flowers, donations will support the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center Annual Fund. Checks may be made payable to the “University of Michigan” and sent to the Michigan Medicine Office of Development, 777 E. Eisenhower Pkwy., Suite 650, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. You may also call 734-764-6777 or visit the website at: victors.us/jamesrquinn to make your gift. Donations can also be made to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Oakland and the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.