Francis Quin: ‘A true character who will be missed by many’
‘A TRUE character who will be missed by many’ was one of the descriptions of the late Francis Quin made during tributes paid at his funeral yesterday.
Hundreds of sports people, friends and politicians packed into St Martin’s Church for the former deputy’s funeral, which was also attended by the Bailiff, Sir Richard Collas.
During the service, taken by the Rev. Daniel Foot, the congregation heard from a member of Mr Quin’s family and a friend and former colleague in the States.
Mr Quin’s nephew, Graham Le Maitre, gave a brief outline of Mr Quin’s life, from a childhood where he spent the war years in an internment camp in Germany, to his varied careers, including diving for scallops and ormers and working in the building trade offering a special external house coating.
He recounted memories of his uncle and family Christmas gatherings at his grandparents’ home and how Mr Quin had fostered his own interest in shooting when Mr Le Maitre was 15.
‘His enthusiasm was infectious,’ he said. ‘He started my first love of shooting.
‘He was a very proud Guernseyman who loved his parish,’ said Mr Le Maitre, adding that he was also a keen supporter of Guernsey FC.
‘He was a true character who will be missed by many.’
Former Chief Minister Mike Torode said he had been friends with Mr Quin from a young age, when they would walk to St Martin’s School together.
He said Mr Quin had seldom spoken of his time in Biberach, but when he had it was always to ask Mr Torode to make sure that after his death a generous donation be made in his name to the Red Cross, ‘who he said saved the lives of him and his mother and so many other internees in those camps’.
He said that as well as his love of sport, in particular shooting, Mr Quin was a keen singer, and after being in the St Martin’s Church choir as a boy, in later life he was part of a singing group at The Captain’s Hotel and then at Les Douvres, where he was part of a choir called Inn Unison.
Mr Torode spoke about to Mr Quin’s time in the States, during which the senior politician had encouraged him to stand for the then Police Committee, later Home Affairs, or which Mr Torode was the president.
He thanks everyone who had attended the funeral: ‘He was a proper Guernseyman and [this is] a proper Guernsey funeral,’ he concluded.
