Stephen Louis Quinto

Stephen Louis Quinto was born to Edward and Rose Quinto in the Bronx, NY, on July 8th, 1935. An entrepreneur, innovator, maverick and adventurer, Mr. Quinto touched the lives of countless people around the world. His life was nothing short of magical, his journeys majestic, and his accomplishments varied and impactful.

An artist at heart, Quinto began his life’s professional adventure as an actor, a theater director and even a restaurant owner (where he would also perform on his guitar) in New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He soon crossed the Atlantic and renovated a small 18th century château in the South of France, before moving to the United Kingdom.

Quinto obtained his pilot’s licenses and in 1968 became the Owner and Pilot of Sagittaire Ltd., a scheduled cargo airline out of London’s Heathrow Airport in 1971, and later of Panavia Cargo Development, Inc. in 1975, an air cargo carrier initially based in Campione Switzerland, which became AirFreighter Leasing Corp., in Miami, Florida, in 1978.

In between these two cargo carriers, Quinto designed and built Tensing Pen in Negril, Jamaica, a stunning seaside resort that continues under the same name today. However, while constructing Tensing Pen, he was also rekindling his passion for the aviation industry. Envisioning a passenger airline this time, with the newly deregulated airline industry, Quinto moved his family to Miami, Florida to pursue the venture.

By 1981, Quinto closed down the successful AirFreighter Leasing Corp and sold its aircraft to finance his new operation: a commercial passenger airline, Northeastern International Airways, based out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. As its Founder, President & CEO, Quinto sought to bring affordable and accessible air travel to the public.

Northeastern grew rapidly, employing 1,600 people, with flights to 17 destination cities (including New York, Boston, Chicago, Little Rock, New Orleans and San Diego), and a fleet of 16 aircraft (DC-8’s, DC-9’s, Airbus A-300’s, & 727’s – two of these unconventionally painted with white cloud motifs). Northeastern pioneered the commercial gateway at Long Island’s Islip MacArthur Airport in New York, which would become a viable alternative to John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports as Islip’s Airport today hosts many major airlines. Northeastern was also one of the first two users of Airbus aircraft in the US, opening up the US market to Airbus Industries. For his groundbreaking work with Northeastern, Quinto was named Honorary Citizen of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Little Rock, Arkansas. During the first six months of 1984, the airline had the highest load factor of any carrier in the US.

By early 1985 though, a confluence of factors forced Northeastern into bankruptcy.

In 1986, Quinto moved his family to the South of France, and the following year to Barcelona, Spain, where he formed a construction company, Entere S.A., that renovated residential properties. During this five year period in Europe, Quinto was masterminding a return to the aviation industry, with plans for a takeover of Pan Am, and moved his family to New York in 1991 to accomplish this.

The intention, however, would ultimately not succeed. Fed up with the political nature of the aviation industry, in 1996 Quinto was introduced to colloidal silver by a close friend. Fascinated by what was called a “miracle drug,” and impassioned with its potential, he developed a proprietary manufacturing process that cracked the code on this 100-year old technology, isolating the smallest silver particles ever seen, and called it Sovereign Silver. He established Natural Immunogenics Corp. in 1998 in Miami and within seven years the company rose to be the market leader in the US. Still a family-owned business, the company employs close to 100 people and is now based in Sarasota, Florida.

In 2006, Quinto and his wife Nicola (Ruth), departed the US for the South Pacific, where they established The Edenhope Project, a government-designated nature preserve on 2,000 acres in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. A living village and eco-community within the preserve, Edenhope remains Quinto’s ultimate vision of reestablishing the bond between humans and nature, as well as a sustainable way of living.

During his adventurous and colorful life, Quinto attended five universities (The Citadel, the University of Michigan, New York University, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, and Pratt Institute in New York), but excelled at piloting school, donning the mantle of his older brother Teddy, a pilot who died while serving in World War II. He had two prior wives who did not survive him (Bonny Fidler and Leueen MacGrath). While developing Tensing Pen in Jamaica, where he befriended Bob Marley and Marley’s ideals, Quinto publicly challenged the Jamaican government, earning him the distinguished status and title of “Persona Non Grata” – living a storied life from start to end.

Stephen Quinto died on August 18, 2022 in Bradenton, Florida, from complications resulting from a medical procedure, surrounded by loving family members. He was 87.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Nicola (Ruth) Quinto, his seven children: Robin Akdeniz, Lisa Quinto Cruz, Seth Quinto, Jesse Quinto, Sharon Clifford, Theo Quinto and Benjamin Quinto, his seven grandchildren: Rebecca, Caroline, Paul, Sarah, Anabelle, Tommy and Fiona, and his nephew, Wayne Greenstone.

A celebration of Quinto’s life will be held at the Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park, 170 Honore Avenue in Sarasota, Florida, 34232, on Saturday, September 10th, 2022, Gathering 2 – 3pm, Celebration of Life Service from 3pm to 4pm, Gathering 4 to 6pm.