June 18, 2002
This is another "B" Line column, a periodic collection of news items of particular interest to members of the Baylor "B" Association. Contribute news about you or your teammates via e-mail to Dutch Schroeder (Dutch_Schroeder@baylor.edu), Reba Cooper (Reba_Cooper@baylor.edu), Kyle Penney,(Kyle_Penney@baylor.edu) or Jack Loftis (Jack.Loftis@chron.com). The mailing address is Baylor "B" Association, P. O. Box 8120, Waco, TX 76714
VICTIM OF SHOOTING - The Beaumont community, the legal profession and all in the Greater Baylor Family were shocked and saddened by the death of Cris Quinn on June 13. He was fatally shot inside his Beaumont law office by a 79-year-old man who apparently was upset because Quinn's law firm, Reaud, Morgan & Quinn, Inc., would not represent him in a legal matter. Charged in the murder was Richard Gerzine, a resident of a Vidor nursing home . . . Quinn, 47, graduated from Westchester High School in Houston and was an Academic All-America football player for Baylor. He lettered at defensive end in 1974-75-76. In 1974 Quinn and his fellow Bears won the Southwest Conference championship and became the first Baylor team to play in the Cotton Bowl, eventually losing to Penn State . . . Former Baylor coach Grant Teaff told the Waco Tribune-Herald that Quinn was the "embodiment" of what a student athlete should be. "He did everything on an excellence level," Teaff said. "He was a person that you knew was going to be very successful, and he was. He had so much to give to the community." . . .
TOP LAWYER AND DAD - Following his football days Quinn earned a Baylor law degree in 1980 and clerked for a federal judge in Tyler before beginning his practice in Beaumont. Fellow Baylorite attorney John Eddie Williams talked about Quinn to The Beaumont Enterprise. "Some trial lawyers are very aggressive and mean, but not Cris," Williams said. "He would beat you because he would out-prepare you, but he would do it in a nice, kind way." . . . Quinn was active as a coach and officer of the Beaumont Youth Soccer League. Shannon Pinson told The Enterprise about the time his daughter was injured in a game and Quinn, her coach, carried her off the field. "He was a very involved dad," Pinson said. "He was always there." . . . On the night of the tragedy Baylor president Dr. Robert Sloan and wife Sue were in Houston for a dinner honoring Houston Astros owner and current BU regents chairman Drayton McLane. All three expressed their personal grief and concerns for Quinn's family . . .
SURVIVORS, MEMORIALS - Quinn is survived by his wife Becky Beech Quinn and five children - Cristin, 14; Coridon, 12; Christopher, 10; Caitlin, 8; and Conner, 4 . . . More than 500 people attended a June 14 memorial service for Quinn at St. Anthony Cathedral in Beaumont and an even larger number of mourners were present for a funeral mass the following day. He was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Beaumont . . . Memorials may be sent to the St. Anne Catholic School Teacher's Fund, 375 West 11th St., Beaumont, Texas 77702-1897 or to the St. Anthony Cathedral Preservation Fund, P.O. Box 3309, Beaumont, Texas 77704-3309. Condolences to the family may be sent to the Broussard Funeral Home, 2000 McFadin, Beaumont, Texas 77701, and will be presented to the family . . .
JACK LOFTIS
CO-CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
