Peter P. Quinn, 77; ran drug-treatment home for adolescents

Peter P. Quinn, 77, of Wallingford, a former transportation specialist, corporate public-affairs manager, and director of a drug-treatment residence for adolescents, died Saturday, March 3, at Crozer-Keystone Hospice in Ridley Park of complications from a seizure.

Mr. Quinn grew up in Catasauqua, Pa., the youngest of seven. After graduating from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 1952, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood. He was ordained a priest in 1960.

For several years, he assisted pastors in churches in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and was a counselor and French teacher at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote.

In 1970, he was appointed chaplain for the archdiocese's new Narcotic and Drug Abuse Apostolate, and he launched an effort to open a drug and alcohol residential treatment facility for young people.

In March 1971, he helped open and became director of the Therapeutic Center in Fox Chase, known as the Bridge. He later started drug-rehabilitation programs in West Philadelphia and worked with the U.S. State Department to establish a similar program in Thailand.

He considered his work with drug- and alcohol-dependent adolescents to be the most important in his life, said his daughter, Maryanne Hancock.

Mr. Quinn continued as director of the Bridge after leaving the priesthood in the early 1970s.

In 1980, he joined SmithKline Beckman, now GlaxoSmithKline, as manager of public policy and community affairs. His involvement with programs in the Chinatown community and the Police Athletic League was especially important to him, his daughter said.

Mr. Quinn became the first executive director of the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association in 1990. The Inquirer later described him as "a transit guru whose job is to keep people moving. On buses. On trains. And, most important, on time."

He achieved these goals by implementing intercorporate shuttles, ride-sharing programs, and park-and-ride services.

Mr. Quinn told The Inquirer that transportation challenges might be in his blood. His father was a yardmaster for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

Though he was no longer a priest, Mr. Quinn was still answering a call to help others.

"Transportation," he told the paper, "has incredible social value. Everyone participates in the transportation process. Managing that for the public good makes a contribution to the human good."

Mr. Quinn enjoyed flower gardening and delighted in being with people, said his wife, Maryanne Bracken Quinn.

Besides his wife and daughter, he is survived by a son, Peter; two sisters; and five grandchildren.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 9, at St. John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church, 617 S. Providence Rd., Wallingford. A memorial and sharing service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 10, at Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford, followed by a Funeral Mass at noon at St. John Chrysostom Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.