After high school, Terry headed to Penn State (“We Are!”) where he studied petroleum engineering. Upon graduation, Terry moved to Wyoming to work in the oil fields. He always recalled his time in Wyoming with great fondness and loved to tell stories of his adventures there. Wyoming maintained its status as his favorite state for the rest of his life.
In 1963, Terry moved to California where he met the love of his life, Karen Jones. They were married in 1966 and enjoyed 52 years together until Karen’s death, in 2018. They had one daughter, Susan.
In addition to two undergraduate degrees, Terry also earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California. He was a certified Petroleum Engineer and worked in the oil business in both California and Texas, until his retirement in the mid-1980s.
Terry was a world traveler and loved nothing more than to plan and take trips to far-flung places around the globe. He and Karen always looked forward to any opportunity to travel, and foreign trips became a central part of their later years together. In early 2023, Terry was finally able to say he had visited all 50 states as well, having made a last trip to the State of Maine.
Family was always very important to Terry. He deeply loved his wife and daughter, and his role in the family was more significant to him than any worldly success would ever be. When he was blessed with two grandchildren in 2001, they became the much beloved lights of his life and a source of great joy in his later years. He was especially proud when they both decided to go to Penn State for graduate school.
Although he had many accomplishments in life, Terry would have liked most to be remembered as a man of faith. His faith was a defining feature in his life from the time he was a young man, and his relationship with God remained a great comfort to him until the end. He was an ordained Christian minister and, in retirement, served faithfully in many roles in the Grace Communion International congregation in Houston.
Terry is survived by his daughter, Susan Alker, her husband Greg Alker, his grandchildren Natalie Alker and Brandon Alker, his brother William Quinn, William’s wife Barbara Quinn, his brother Richard’s wife Bonnie Quinn, Karen’s brother Darryl Jones and his wife Cec Jones, and nieces and nephews Michael Quinn, Debra Tufts, Tonya Cavin, Karen Vaca, Katy Garrity, and Tricia Mollenkopf.
The family will greet relatives and friends on Saturday, October 28, 2023 from 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM at Theo C. Auman Inc., 247 Penn St., Reading, PA 19601. Graveside committal at Leesport Cemetery will immediately follow.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.TheoCAuman.com for the Quinn family.
