Former business owner and WJBC Spirit of McLean County award recipient has died

Posted on March 23, 2023
Elmo Quinn, of Bloomington, was the 2019 recipient of the WJBC Don Munson Spirit of McLean County Award. (WJBC file photo)

By WJBC Staff

BLOOMINGTON – Elmo Quinn, a longtime local business owner and 2019 recipient of the WJBC Don Munson Spirit of McLean County award, died Wednesday at the age of 82.

Owner of the Quinn Shell gas station just north of downtown Bloomington, it was operated by the family for 72 years before it closed in 2013, and was one of the last full-service gas stations in Illinois.

Known for his kindness and friendliness, some have dubbed him the “Mayor of Main Street.”

Quinn was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Church and volunteered his time at the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen and St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry.

Visitation will be from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home in Bloomington.

Elmo’s obituary can be found here.

WJBC News can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…