Charles Joseph Quinn, Jr., 75, passed away with his wife at his side on Tuesday, July

11, 2023 at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Charles (who also went by CJ or Charlie) was born on June 20, 1948 in the East

Oaklane neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Charles J.

Quinn and Marie Fleischmann Quinn and the older brother of Patricia Quinn (O'Hagan).

After graduating from Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1966, he earned a B.A. cum

laude in English in 1970 from Lasalle University in Philadelphia. In 1972, he received an

M.A. in English from Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, he worked as a

teaching assistant at the English Language Center, whose director happened to be from

Japan. Thanks to his recommendation, Charles was offered a position teaching English

conversation in the Matsuyama area on the island of Shikoku. Though the job fell

through due to lack of funding, Charlie made ends meet by picking mandarin oranges

(mikan) at a farm in the area. He learned a lot of Japanese language and made many

friends. Eventually, he took a teaching position at an English school owned by the Sony

Corporation in Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu and taught there several years. These

were some of the first of his many experiences living in Japan and the beginning of a

lifetime as a student and then a scholar of Japanese language and culture.

Charles completed a Master's degree at The University of Michigan in 1981 and earned

his Ph.D. there in 1987, both in Japanese classical literature and linguistics. From 1984

to 1986, he was employed as a lecturer in Japanese language and literature at Indiana

University, Bloomington. In 1987 he joined the faculty of the Department of East Asian

Languages and Literatures (DEALL) at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. In

1988 he married Shelley Fenno Quinn, a native of Montpelier, who was on the

Japanese literature faculty in DEALL. They worked together as colleagues there for 34

years.

Charles's research interests spanned two primary areas. He was a historical linguist

who researched syntax, morphology and their interrelations with genre and discourse in

Old Japanese (Nara period) and Early Middle Japanese (Heian period) texts. He was

also deeply committed to teaching and research in Japanese language pedagogy and

played an active part in building the Japanese language program at OSU. His emphasis

was on language as performed culture. In his words, he saw language learning as a

process of language socialization, "aimed at enabling the performance (and thus

creation) of a viable persona/self in another culture."

Together with his role as Associate Professor at OSU, over the years he was a visiting

researcher at Keio University, Tohoku University, and the National Institute of Multimedia

Education in Japan. With Jane M. Bachnik, he co-authored and edited Situated

Meaning: Inside and Outside in Japanese Self, Society and Language (Princeton 1994).

Along with publication of articles on linguistics and foreign language pedagogy, he

devoted twenty years to designing and serving as lead developer of Classical Japanese

Portal (CJP), an interactive multimedia website that is used by students of classical

Japanese language around the world.

Charles was a dedicated educator. In 1990 he received the OSU Alumni University

Distinguished Teaching Award, The Ohio State University, and he was nominated for it again in

2011. His graduate students speak of his integrity, his expertise and commitment, and his ability

to challenge students to think critically. The last Ph.D. student that he advised recently wrote,

"He was the most committed, kind, and giving mentor that I have ever known." More shared

memories of Charles are posted at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/columbus-

oh/charles-quinn-11372736.

Charles loved the southern New Jersey shore. From junior high school, he spent his summers in

Sea Isle City, New Jersey, and he was a lifeguard for the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol throughout

college and into graduate school. He liked aquatic sports. Along with being a strong swimmer, he

competed for three years on the Lasalle University rowing team. He was also a serious amateur

guitarist and especially enjoyed traditional and old-time music. He was an enthusiastic student of

the clawhammer banjo as well. He enjoyed woodworking when he could find the time, and like

his father, Charles loved baseball, especially the Philadelphia Phillies.

Charles's family members include his wife, Shelley; his aunt, Jane (Fleischmann) Connelly; a

nephew, David B. Maxwell; three nieces, Shanna O'Hagan, Alison W. Maxwell, and Roslyn T.

Maxwell; a sister-in-law, Gwen L. Fenno; two brothers-in-law, Michael O'Hagan and John J.

Maxwell; a grandniece, Charlotte Clay, and many cousins. Charles will be greatly missed by all

who knew and loved him. He is predeceased by his parents, his sister Patti, his mother-in-law,

Marilyn W. Fenno, and his sister-in-law, Lynn (Fenno) Maxwell.

Committal prayers will be led at the graveside in Green Mount Cemetery at 1:00 PM on

Thursday, August 10. A memorial service celebrating Charles's life is also planned for late

September in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. If desired, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to

the Atsushi Onoe Memorial Fund (Fund Number 665555), Department of East Asian Languages

and Literatures, The Ohio State University

(https://www.giveto.osu.edu/makeagift/details/665555), or to the National Audubon Society

(https://www.audubon.org/).

Those wishing to express online condolences may do so at www.guareandsons.com.