Walter E. Quinn, 75, a former 30-year resident of Glen Ellyn and retired tool engineer who also owned a restaurant and antique shop in the western suburbs, died Tuesday, Oct. 8, in Wooster, Ohio, of heart failure and complications from kidney failure. Mr. Quinn was born in Chicago. He entered the Navy after graduating from John Marshall High School and served in the Philippines in World War II. After the war he worked a number of jobs before marrying his wife, Charmaine, in 1949. He then went to work for his father-in-law, who owned a die cast business. Mr. Quinn became a tool engineer after attending Belton School of Design in Chicago. After working a few years with his father-in-law, he decided to branch out on his own, said his son Jeff. In 1957 Mr. Quinn opened Charmaine’s Restaurant in Franklin Park. He closed the restaurant after a number of years and opened an antique shop in Villa Park. Mr. Quinn returned to the tool and die industry and became a tool designer for Spraying Systems in Carol Stream, working there for more than 20 years. He retired in 1988, and he and his wife moved to Florida, where they lived for 10 years, and then settled in Ohio to be near family. Throughout his life Mr. Quinn would find broken equipment and fix it. “My dad was a great tinkerer. He could fix anything. … That was what he loved. It was like a puzzle to him to put something back together again,” his son said. His collection of refurbished items included 50 clocks, stereos and other electronics. He also amassed a record collection of 600 albums of jazz and old standards. “My father was always the one you could depend on in any situation,” his son added. In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Quinn is survived by another son, Thomas; two daughters, Catherine Greene and Janice Connell; a brother, James; two sisters, Pat Veronis and Beverly Cook; and seven grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in the Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Rd., Wheaton.
