It was just a hair over 30 years ago that I met Terry Quinn. I had just started a new job and in the cubicle next to me was a single guy in my age range. Perfect, a wingman for Monday night Ladies Night at Max and Erma’s. I’d been single for about seven months and I had yet to find the right guy to help me find the next Mrs. Churan. Little did I know that he would be far more than a wingman.
I have tried to find the right words to describe Terry Quinn, but I’m not sure the right words have yet been created. Terry cannot be summed up in a few words or even a few paragraphs. He’s the kind of guy that you can always count on as a friend but at the same time he isn’t going to pull any punches. If you tried wearing a slightly too tight shirt out to the Disco and it makes you look ridiculous, he’s the kind of guy that will take pleasure in letting you know about your escape from the fashion police.
A side of Terry that most people aren’t familiar with is the charitable part of his life. A number of years ago, a son of one of his employees tragically died after getting hit in the chest with a baseball during a game. Terry very quickly put in place a program where he made available heart protectors for every child in Westerville that wanted one. This was not the only time that Terry helped employees during their time of need even though he never made a big deal of it. Terry has also been very generous to the OSU Hospital over the years.
However, the side of Terry that I will always remember is the more loony side. I don’t have enough time here to talk about all of the crazy things that Terry has done to make someone laugh but my favorite of all was shortly after Julia and I purchased a hot tub. We decided to have a “Hot Tub Party” inviting several people over to the house for drinks, snacks and a dip in the tub. I’ll never forget answering the door and Terry is standing there in a full wet suit with fins, goggles and snorkel gear. I’m not even going to mention the time that he shaved off half of his mustache before a first date with a young lady. Whatever it took to make people laugh, he was willing to try.
We only have one or two opportunities in life to have a best friend. Terry has been that important part of my life since that first day on our way to Max and Erma’s. Sadly, Terry is not only my best friend but also my best friend with cancer. For the last eight or nine months we have had weekly conversations about how he doing in his fight. Now I use him as my crutch and teacher on how to fight the battle.
Some of you have asked about the title of my blog, “Just Take an Hour.” In many ways it is about Terry. You see, Terry has always been a hard worker spending 60-70 hours working every week for the last 30 years. Too many, in fact, to get a yearly physical. We have lamented that fact many times on the phone over the last few months because Terry now knows that if he had done that, he might have caught his cancer at an earlier stage, a more treatable stage. I was a little more lucky having found my cancer during my annual check-up. As a result, I am doing my best to get everyone that I know to get a check up annually because it only takes an hour and may save your life. If there is one message that I hope you take away from my writings is just that. Please take care of yourself and friends and see a doctor annually, it just takes an hour.
Terry is doing everything that he can to try to win this fight of fights. He has done chemotherapy, hormone treatments and now radiation. Some have helped, others have not. Yet, everyday he does everything he can to make it one more day. I’m sure part of that is because he knows I desperately need him to get better. I know I’ll never have another best friend like Terry.
Please say a prayer for Terry and everyone else of my cancer buddies as we fight everyday to get better.
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