Sep. 3—The charisma and upbeat attitude Carroll Quinn embodied served him well in managing what can be a tough part of the newspaper industry: circulation.

Retired Tribune-Review general manager Art McMullen said Quinn's personality was a good fit in the role of vice president of circulation and production, ensuring newspapers reached thousands of homes and dealing with customer complaints when something went awry. But Quinn had a way of smoothing things over and making everything right.

"I think he could overcome that by his outgoing personality," McMullen said. "He didn't let those things drag him down."

The same could be said for much of Quinn's life.

He was always taking his family on a memorable vacation or telling a joke. Work was a source of pride for him, but so was letting loose and having fun, according to his family.

Quinn, of Pittsburgh, died Friday at UPMC Presbyterian hospital. He was 66.

Quinn was a native of Philadelphia and as a teen worked summers at the family business, Kennywood. That's where he and brother Andy Quinn of Mt. Lebanon grew close.

"We bunked together, we drank together, we worked together," Andy Quinn said.

Andy Quinn recalled many sleepless nights with his brother after the rides shut down, laughing over a few beers at a nearby establishment, just to catch a quick nap before heading back to work at the West Mifflin amusement park. The brothers at first worked on the Turnpike ride, then Carroll Quinn later became manager of the Jack Rabbit roller coaster.

"He was always the life of the party," Andy Quinn said. "He was a fun guy to be around."

After Quinn graduated from Villanova University, his career eventually moved into the newspaper business at the Baltimore Sun and Chicago Sun-Times before landing at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he worked from 1992 to 2004.

Through a next-door office to Quinn 20 years ago at the Newsworks printing facility, Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto said she learned a lot about business from him and how to manage employees. Quinn was in charge of increasing home delivery of the Pittsburgh edition in the mid to late 1990s before becoming responsible for circulation company-wide as well as daily production of the newspapers.

"You really can't write the story of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review without having a few chapters about Carroll," Bertetto said.

Daughter Joanna Bell of Hunker learned quite a few things from her father, too. She spent about 10 years working at his full-service firm, Distinct Advertising in Greensburg, after his stint in the newspaper business and saw his energy flourish during commercial shoots and brainstorming ideas.

"My dad was a larger-than-life kind of guy. He did everything big," she said. "He liked to get dressed up and throw big parties."

As a proponent of experiences over material items, he enjoyed traveling the world and sharing that time with his family, she said.

"I think that's a good lesson that I learned from him," she said.

There's one experience that sticks in Bell's memory: the time during her childhood in Chicago when a tornado was blowing through and Bell's favorite stuffed bear was at a neighbor's house.

"My dad, he ran over and got it for me," she said. "He would do a lot for a lot of people."

In addition to Bell and his brother, Carroll Quinn is survived by his wife, Lori, sons Ryan and Christopher Quinn, eight grandchildren, brother Tom Quinn, sister Denise Kossuth and other family members.

Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at John A. Freyvogel Sons, 4900 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh. A funeral service will be held there at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, followed by a celebration of life at 1 p.m. at Bella Terra Vineyards in Hunker. Donations in Quinn's honor can be made to Manchester Bidwell Corp.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta by email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .