Katharine 'Nancy' Quinn, 87, mother, IT pioneer and business owner

Katharine "Nancy" Curtin Quinn, 87, of West Chester, a mother of seven, a former business owner, and an early programmer in computing history, died Thursday, Oct. 19, of congestive heart failure at Paoli Hospital.

Mrs. Quinn, who lived in Drexel Hill and Glenside before moving into the Hershey's Mill development in East Goshen Township, Chester County, was one of seven children born to a prominent Scranton family. Her father, Eugene Augustus Curtin, was a leading physician, and the family was known for contributing to the civic life of the community.

Mrs. Quinn attended St. Paul's High School in Scranton and enrolled at Trinity College, now Trinity Washington University, where she majored in mathematics.

After graduating in 1951, she pursued an interest in what was then a revolutionary field – computer science.

She was aware that in the 1940s, innovators J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly had developed ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer – at the University of Pennsylvania. The machine was one of the earliest precursors of today's supercomputers.

When the two men formed the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp. in Philadelphia, they hired Mrs. Quinn as one of a number of programmers. She worked under Grace Hopper and Edward Teller, both leaders in the emerging information technology field, her family said.

Along the way she pursued another interest – a young man down the street in Scranton who became her husband in 1953. He was William P. Quinn, founder and managing partner of the Philadelphia law firm Rubin, Quinn & Moss.

The couple had seven children. Confronted with the daunting prospect of paying for seven college educations, she and her husband conceived a plan to open an ice-cream parlor in Ocean City, N.J. They put their children to work earning tuition money.

The shop, A la Mode, was such a success they opened a second one. They operated the business from two locations for 15 years before selling it in 1988.

Mrs. Quinn was energetic, organized, and not given to complaining. An avid gardener, one of her favorite phrases was, "bloom where you are planted," said  daughter Brenna, a business executive.

While raising seven children, Mrs. Quinn started a data-entry business called Kwik Key in Willow Grove. She and her husband found time to travel the world in retirement starting in 1988. She was a gracious and talented hostess, and her home remained the nexus for family gatherings.

Anthony R. Wood, the husband of her daughter Laura and an Inquirer reporter and editor, said those gatherings were legendary: "She came from a large family, she had her own large family, and she wanted the rest of the world to be part of it. When you went to family gatherings at the Quinn household, you could believe she succeeded."

When Catholic Social Services was seeking volunteers to sponsor a Vietnamese refugee family in the 1980s, she and her husband volunteered to host the family in their home for six months. Later, they also took in a Polish refugee family.

"Growing up, we always had an exchange student living with us," her daughter said. "She would always open up what we had to others. It was to teach us about different people's experiences."

Known for her sparkling blue eyes, Mrs. Quinn also stood out because of her cooking skills. She and her sisters created a recipe book of family favorites, especially sweets.

While in the hospital as her health failed, Mrs. Quinn engaged everyone around her in conversation about society, religion, and politics. "She cared about the most important things, and was never distracted by the trivial," her daughter said.

"She did everything in a big way. She had no time for idleness. She firmly believed in never looking back, she was always looking forward," her daughter said.  "She was forgiving, open, loving, and curious about everything."

In addition to her daughters, Mrs. Quinn is survived by daughters Clare, Ellen, Maureen Acton, and Julia Miller; a son, William P. Jr.; 13 grandchildren; two sisters; and two brothers.

A visitation starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, will be followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Norbert Church, 50 Leopard Rd., Paoli. Burial is private.

Memorial contributions may be made to Daylesford Abbey, 220 S. Valley Rd., Paoli, Pa. 19301, or Trinity Washington University, 125 Michigan Ave. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017.