Former NCR engineering manager Jake Quinn, who has died aged 90, was born into a family with first-class engineering heritage.
His father, Joe, was an engine driver on the LNER route between Scotland and England.
In a long career on the railways, he even got the chance to drive two of the world’s most famous locomotives, Mallard and Flying Scotsman.
Son Jake went on to have a long career in engineering with NCR before working on offshore installation construction at the Howard Doris yard at Kishorn in Ross and Cromarty.
Early years
John (Jake) Quinn grew up in Peddie Street, Dundee, with parents Joe and Lily (Hutton) and sister Agnes, who went on to teach at St Joseph’s Primary School, Dundee, and then in Nairn.
He was educated at primary and secondary level at Lawside and left school aged 15 to serve his time as an engineer at Blackness Foundry.
When he was 20, Jake was called up for National Service and became a radar technician in the RAF.
He liked to recall that he was demobbed on the Friday and began work at NCR in Dundee on the Monday.
Promotions
His first job was as a parts inspector and he rose through the company to become engineering manager/quality assurance manager working across the sites at Camperdown, Gourdie and Dunsinane.
After nearly 30 years with the firm, he had a career break working on a farm near Alyth before returning to engineering with Williamson of Arbroath.
It was here he became acquainted with the requirements of offshore engineering and after a spell with a Dundee firm and a secondment to Sunderland, he joined Howard Doris at Kishorn.
Junior football and swimming in the Tay
His partner of 47 years, Bobbie Ferguson, said he would spend four weeks away and then a week at home.
“Sometimes the work involved climbing up spiral ladders to the top of the installations but he liked to set an example for the other staff.
“In his youth, Jake had played junior football on a sinders pitch at Riverside and I remember him saying that each training session finished with a swim in the River Tay.
“He had been a successful member of the angling club at NCR and regularly fished on beats in the Tay around Caputh and Dunkeld.”
Mentor
Bobbie and Jake lived near a Dundee secondary school and Jake often shared his engineering knowledge with pupils and was on hand to answer mathematical questions.
Jake had a son and daughter, Mandy and Gavin, from his marriage.
Mandy lives in Australia and Gavin, who lived in Surrey, died in his 50s.
In retirement, Jake and Bobbie enjoyed many holidays to Australia and Hong Kong and skiing in Italy and the United States.
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