Forest Hills - QUINN

RON

Ron Quinn, 83, of Forest Hills, beloved brother, uncle, and friend, died Tuesday, November 4, 2025, due to complications from Parkinson's disease. Ron was an intellectual, a philosopher, a gifted musician, and an insatiably curious person who engaged profoundly and meaningfully with the people and the world around him. Ron was also a deeply kindhearted and compassionate man who championed the causes of social justice, racial equality, and the plight of all who were vulnerable or marginalized. Ron was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Irene; his brothers, Chuck and Steve; and his companion, Carolyn Howe.

Ron was born in May 1942, in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated in 1964 from Duquesne University with a BA in Music, followed by a master's degree in Applied Music from Yale University in 1966, as a bassoonist. After graduating from Yale, Ron was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh's doctoral program in musicology. In furtherance of his goal of pursuing a career as a bassoonist, Ron was playing regularly in a quintet composed largely of Pittsburgh Symphony members, and in 1968 he was in line for the position of Bassoon Instructor at the Pennsylvania State University. Before he could accept, however, he became ill, experiencing significant problems with his motor skills. His symptoms quickly worsened, and he was hospitalized and diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. With extensive therapy Ron regained 90% of his muscle and nerve function, but the fine motor controls necessary to play the bassoon at a professional level had been lost.

With an expected career as a professional musician now unattainable, Ron chose a new line of work that would allow him to make a difference in the lives of the vulnerable people he cared so much about. In 1971 he took a position with the Allegheny County Department of Manpower, which in later years became the Department of Human Services. Ron was an administrator of federal and state grants, which provided resources for preparing and training adults and youth for employment. Ron eventually became a top administrator of the program and retired in 2005 after 34 years of service. In his own way, Ron carried on the work of his father, Tom Quinn, a local union leader whose career in labor spanned from the 1940s through the early 1990s, encompassing serving as the business agent representing the employees at Westinghouse Air Brake and Union Switch & Signal to being named the Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation.

While he was unable to play bassoon professionally, Ron remained a highly skilled bassoonist and played over several decades with many community ensembles, including the Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra and the North Pittsburgh Symphonic Band (NPSB). When Ron experienced additional health issues in his later years and was no longer able to play the bassoon to his satisfaction, he began serving as coach and artistic director for the NPSB's woodwind ensemble. It gave Ron great joy to continue to utilize his musical gifts and encyclopedic knowledge of classical music in the service of helping other musicians improve and find a personal musical language through their instruments.

Ron was a voracious reader, often reading multiple books at a time in his most keen areas of interest: literature, philosophy, drama, poetry, history, and current events. Ron's home was full of books, periodicals, sheet music, and art in its many forms. Ron was a master of crossword puzzles and was an accomplished chef and baker. He was also a seasoned traveler who immersed himself in new places and experiences. Ron spent a great deal of time at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, indulging his lifelong love of learning, and at the Jewish Community Center, where he exercised, sparked conversations, and made social connections.

Ron had no immediate family but created his own unique family via his extensive network of extended family, close friends, casual friends, bandmates, and neighbors. Ron was a dedicated uncle who enjoyed deep conversations and time spent with his nieces and nephews. He was also particularly close to his younger brother Steve and coordinated care for Steve, who, in his later years, dealt with both mental and physical illness.

Those who knew Ron will remember his kindness, talent, intellectualism, humanity, deep thinking, and profound engagement in life.

A memorial for Ron will be held at a later date.

If desired, Ron's family suggests contributions to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (carnegielibrary.org) or WQED (wqed.org).