Quint Bio

---((( A More Extensive Look At M. Quint )))--- VITAL STATISTICS: Name: Quint, Michael Jacob Date of Birth: 9 Aug 1927 Place of Birth: Boston City Hospital, Boston, Mass. (USA) Mothers Name: Lorna (Downey) Quint Date of Birth: 11 March 1905 (D) 18 May 1929 (cause) shark attack Birthplace: Waterford, Ireland Occupation: Seamstress Other children: (none) Grandmother's Name: Clara (Galloway) Downey Birthplace: Wicklow, Ireland Date of Birth: 19 Jan 1885 Occupation: Cook Grandfathers name: Michael Downey Birthplace: Carlow, Ireland Birthdate: 26 Nov 1883 Occupation: Baker Other Downey Children: Lynn (F)/ Brandon (M) ********************************************** Fathers Name: John Jacob Quint, jr. Birthplace: Quincy, MASS. (USA) Birthdate: 19 Nov 1890 Death: 30 sep 1950 (cirroses) Occupation: United States Merchant Marines (ret) Other Children: None Grandfather: John Jacob Quint, sr. Birthplace: Lynn, Mass. (USA) Birthdate: 5 jun 1864 Occupation: Admiral, USN (ret) Grandmother: Rosemary (Miller) Quint Birthplace: Saugus, Mass. (USA) Birthdate: 2 apr 1866 Occupation: Teacher Other Quint Children: None ********************************************** ~~~~~~(( BIOGRAPHIES ))~~~~~~ PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: John Jacob Quint, Sr & Rosemary (Miller) Quint: Met at a local valentines day "sweethearts" dance on February 13th, 1890. John Sr. was a Navy Admiral and "Rose" taught elementary school in her hometown of Saugus. Since each of them were quite career-minded, they did not marry until they were in thier 30's. They married one week after they met, February 20th, 1890. Rose became pregnant almost immediately and had a difficult birth. Thier only child, John Jacob Quint, junior, was born on the 19th of November, 1890. The Admiral was a cold, hard man who had always had a drinking problem, but it was excessive after he retired from the Navy in 1914. When he was on active duty, he barely spent time with his son. He was always verbally abusive towards his wife and son, but it became violent, as well, when he had been drinking. Rose, a quiet woman, chose to run or hide from the abuse instead of deal with it and she always his, alone, leaving John, jr. to bear the brunt of his fathers rage. This was the main reason John, jr. joined up with the Merchant Marines immediately out of high school. Admiral John Jacob Quint, Sr., USN, Ret., died at the age of 64 from a heart attack on May 4th, 1930. Rosemary died of complications of diabetes on october 14th, 1957. She was 83. MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: Michael Downey & Clara (Galloway) Downey: Met one day in 1904 when Clara came into Michael's father's bakery, where he worked, in the small township of Carlow. She had been working for a well-to-do family in nearby Tullow when she needed two loaves of bread for the family. He was 21 and she, only 19. They courted sweetly for almost 8 months and they were very much in love on March the 14th, 1904. One year later, thier first child, Lorna was born. A year later, another daughter, Lynn, came along. Then, three years later, a son, Brandon. Unfortunately, Brandon died in a swimming accident when he was 12 and Lynn died of rheumatic fever when she only 6. Michael and Clara were very close, very much in love and had a strong faith in God. They were kind, generous people who loved thier chldren very much, so it was very tough losing two of thier three children, so it was only natural that they heaped all of thier love on thier remaining child, Lorna, who was almost a woman, now. Although it was a heartbreaking situation, it wasnt difficult for them to move to the United States after thier precious Lorna was killed when she was only 24, to care for thier only grandchild. They moved into thier son-in-law's home and lovingly cared for little Michael, named after his grandfather. They fought for custody of little Michael to protect him from his father, who was as abusive to his son...(whenever he was around, which wasnt often)...as his father had been to him. Clara died of a brain embolism in her sleep when she was 86, on Janruary 3rd, 1971. Michael died of a heart attack, seven months later, he was 87. PARENTS: John Jacob Quint, jr & Lorna (Downey) Quint: John and Lorna met in december of 1926...John was 36 years old, fifteen years Lorna's senior...she was only 21. Lorna had been working in a dress shop as a seamstress in the township of Wicklow, where she still lived with her parents. Wicklow was a small town on the western shore of the Irish sea. The night she met John Quint, she was having a coke at the local pub with a couple of coworkerd from the dress shop. John walked in with a couple of shipmates of his, who had all docked in nearby Dublin for a week. He was a gorgeous man...he stood at least six-feet-four inches with broad shoulders, blond, curly hair and eyes the color of the sky...a deep, hearty voice, a great laugh and a smile that could light up the darkest day. Lorna's knee's went weak and she felt giddy and giggly...she fell in love with him, immediately, as it was she who persued him, relentessly!...They courted all that week...(he had quickly developed quite a crush of his own on this petite, persistant woman!)...and they married before he set sail...about 4 days later. He went many places, staying out at sea for almost 5 months after the marriage. When he returned, he discovered his new bride was carrying thier child. On the 9th day of august, 1927, Lorna gave birth to her son, Michael - (after her father), Jacob - (after Johns father) Quint...a beautiful boy with his fathers gorgeous blue eyes and curls, but his hair was the color of his mothers -- a light, golden, reddish-blond. He was a big child, weighing almost 9 pounds and 23 inches in length. "He will be very tall", his mother had said. Back when John had discovered his brides pregnancy, he took her to his home in the United States, to Quincy, Massachussettes, not far from Boston, where his ship was stationed. It was there, in the Boston City Hospital where his son was born. Lorna didnt care much about living in the United States, away from her parents, away from the home she loved, but she loved her husband and would go anywhere with him and just be happy that she *was* with him. He was a decent husband...he made her happy, made a good home for them...his wife and son, but he was away, at sea, most of a year, only being home 2-3 months in a year. There were many times when Lorna heard rumors that he was having affairs with other women, though she had most of his attention when he was home. On May the 18th, 1929, a shipmate of Johns, who was also on leave, invited the Quints to go out with he and his wife on thier private boat for a weekend of fishing and fun. That afternoon, a hot, sunny saturday, Lorna and thier friends wife decided to go off the boats stern to swim. Lorna was a good swimmer, so she had gone out quite farther than her friend. She suddenly disappeared and wouldnt respond to her husbands calls. At first, John thought she might be playing a joke on him...she had a wicked sense of humor, when the mood struck her, but after calling her for over a half an hour or so, with no response, John panicked. They frantically searched for her over an hour, when, to thier horror, they noticed a human arm floating off of the port side...immediately recognizable by the rings it bore on one of its remaining fingers...the wedding ring John had given his bride only 2 and a half years, before. She had been attacked by a shark. Little Michael had seen the entire attack take place, but was too young and far too traumatized to talk. As a matter of fact, he didnt talk again until he was almost 5 years old. John had really come to love Lorna, far beyond a simple 'crush'. Her traumatic death was overwhelming and he was never the same, after. Less than one month after Lorna's funeral, Johns extended leave was up, so he went back out to sea, where he spent most of the rest of his life. He pleaded with Lorna's parents to come to the United States to care for the boy while he was at sea and they obliged. John drank quite heavily after losing his bride and was eventually discharged because of it. His health deteriorated from then on and, on september 30th, 1950, he died from complications caused by cirrosis of the liver. He was 60 years old. ---((( MICHAEL JACOB QUINT )))--- Born on a sunny, summer sunday, at 9:18am, august the 9th, 1927, in Boston City Hospital, Boston, Massachussetts. Named Michael, after his maternal grandfathers first name and Jacob, after his paternal grandfathers second name. He was a strikingly handsome, outgoing, happy child after the trauma of his mothers tragic death at the tender age of 21 months. He was raised by his maternal grandparents who were loving and kind, though not very attentive, still suffering the loss of all of their own children to tragedies or illness. They found it less stressful to remain emotionally detached from thier most precious, only grandchild for fear of heartbreak, again, should something happen to this child they gave thier entire hearts to. His father wuld visit him only once or twice per year, but never quite making it on special days, such as birthdays or christmas's. To sort of compensate for thier grandsons missing his father, they decided to take him someplace special every summer. A neighbor had told them about Amity Island, off of Martha's Vineyard. They went to the island this first summer, with the plans to go somewhere different every year, but little Michael loved it on Amity Island so much, that they went every year, eventually becoming a yearly tradition. John sent money home every month and short notes to his son every now and then, but it was a poor replacement for a father. Michael Quint went through most of his school years, quitting after only two years in high school. He decided, against his grandparents wishes, to get a job to help make things better at home, to make ends meet. His grandparents were ailing and he had no idea how much longer his father would be sending money to support them. Oh, but he was quite a handsome young fellow...his first job was at a soda fountain in a local drugstore and his boss found Michael quite good for business, bringing in the girls by the droves! By age 15, Michael found he loved going to Pleasure Bay, on the Boston Harbor to watch the boats. He loved the sea, immensly, mainly because of the stories he had remembered hearing his father and paternal grandfather tell about it. By age 16, he'd saved enough money to buy a small boat that he could fish from and he loved this more than anything! When he was 14, though, Pearl Harbor had been bombed and he wanted desperately to join the Navy, but he was too young. The Navy recruiting officer had told him that he could come back in three years with his grandparents signature - and Michael never forgot that. When Michael finally did turn 17, the war was still raging on, so, on his 17th birthday, he begged his grandparents to sign the forms. It was all he wanted for his birthday, he told them. With great reservations, they gave in to their grandsons wishes and, on august 10th, 1944, Michael Jacob Quint was inducted into the United States Navy and, immediately thereafter, assigned his first duty...on a warship christened the USS Indianapolis. On June the 29th, 1945, Michael experienced the second most traumatic experience of his life when the Indianapolis was struck by Japanese torpedo fire and had to fend off sharks for 5 days and nights...with his mothers death still in his mind...floating in the Pacific ocean, starving, tired, thirsty and in pain from the effects of the salt water ahs on human skin. On his 18th birthday, he was given the Purple Heart for valor and bravery in the line of duty to his country. One month later, he was honorably discharged from the service. He went back home to his grandparents, where he soon got a job repairing boats, at the same little harbor on Pleasure Bay, where he had kept his own boat. In december of 1945, he met a young girl who's father owned a small yacht in the harbor, Jenny Dayton. In march of 1946, he and Jenny were married. It didnt last long and there were no children...Jenny was only 17 and her parents felt she was just too young and immature to be married. Thier interference eventually caused the divorce. In october of 1946, Quint acquired a larger boat that he christened the "Orca", choosing to name his boat after the largest sea mammal in the ocean...the only thing a shark couldnt beat. He cherished this vessel -- he was quite proud of it. He quit his job repairing other peoples boats to persue his dream of becoming a fisherman. On his twentieth birthday, a friend took him to a local pub to celebrate. There, he met his second wife to be, Mary Burgess. But one day, out on the Massachussetts Bay, while fishing, Michael (Who now prefferred to simply be called "Quint"...refferring to each other by thier last names only, since there mustve been ten dozen Michaels in the Navy, was the easiest way to distinguish one sailor from the next ...it was easier at home, as well...having two Michaels in the same household could get confusing, at times!) Quint caught a ten foot tiger shark...the same kind of shark he saw kill his mother and the same kind of shark that killed most of his shipmates from the Indy. When he pulled this shark up onto the boat and bludgeoned it to death, he felt a strang exhileration...it was as if, while beating the life out of this aquatic predator, all of his pent up anger, frustration and sadness were being released. He finally found the emotional release he had been searching for for so long and it felt good...*really* good and it quickly became an addiction to him. He immediately wanted to kill _more_ sharks and _more_sharks. All of his anger came out onto these poor sea creatures and he couldnt get enough. Soon, he was spending almost all of his time out on the water, looking only for sharks. His appetite for release was unquenchable and it eventually caused a rift in his second marriage. On november the 11th, 1948, Mary (Burgess) Quint filed for a divorce on the grounds of "abandonment". They had no children, either. From 1947 until 1955, Quint was content with being alone, a "free agent", sailing a good many different places throughout the world, fishing, telling shark stories to other sailors and fishermen, hopping from port to port. In the late summer of 1955, he docked in San Francisco, near the Presidio and Chinatown. It was at the fishmarket, on the wharf, where he met Elaine Mason, the one true love of his life. She was a pretty little thing, about five and a half feet tall and weighing only about 110 pounds, with long, dark hair and big, blue eyes and a voice that sounded like some exotic, melodic tune to Quints ears. Her smile was so beautiful that it haunted him wherever he went. He fell in love with her right away and, on october the 1st, 1955, they married at Glide memorial church on Geary Blvd. in San Francisco. He lived with her there, in San Francisco for a time, but pleaded with her to come and live with him on Amity Island. She eventually agreed. They made a lovely, cozy home together, a little cottage near the beach. She stayed home and decorated while Quint fished all day, his vendetta against the shark seemingly past its phase. He always made sure to be home with her, every night...he didnt want her to think he was "abandoning" her...(but, too, he couldnt stay away!). She was his cherished bride and he loved her with a sort of fierce urgency, as he couldnt get enough of being with her, he loved her so. In february of 1957, he was thrilled and delighted to learn that his beloved was carrying thier child. But, by august of that year, Quints third...and possibly worst, to him...tragedy struck. Elaine woke him in the middle of the night, hemmoraging heavily. He rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late. She had been bleeding awhile before she woke that night and the hospital was just too far...she had lost so much blood that her heart had simply stopped and the doctor, despite gallant efforts, could not revive her. The baby had caught some sort of virus that was undetected and the baby had died from it several days, before. Elaine, herself, hadnt become ill so she never knew. Now, this night, the infection had spread so far to a point of no return. Quint buried his beloved bride and his precious little son in the cemetery on the mainland and remained on the island to be near them. In late June of 1975, Quint had earned quite a reputation as a 'shark killer' (or "sharker", as he prefferred to be called), so it was of little wonder why the Amity Island sheriff called upon Quint to help eliminate an unusually large squalis that had been attacking (and devouring) the summer tourist trade. On june the 29th, 1975, thirty years to the day, exactly, when Quint won his first battle of survival with a shark, Quint lost his life to what now seems as his destiny. He was 47 years old. EDITORS NOTE: The monstrous sized shark that killed Michael J. Quint was eventually destroyed. There was a small memorial at sea for Mr. Quint, given by the Amity Island sheriff who had first commissioned him, Chief Martin Brody, along with several members of the Amity Island township, including the Mayor and towns council, on July 18th, 1975, at 10:30am, 17 miles SSE off of the east Amity shore line, in what was estimated to be where Mr. Quint's boat, the "Orca" sank after being demolished when the massive sized squalis crashed up onto it. ---- E.

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