Former ATA Chairman and U.S. Xpress Co-Founder Patrick Quinn Dies at 65
Patrick Quinn, co-founder, co-chairman and president of U.S. Xpress Enterprises and a former chairman of American Trucking Associations, died Tuesday. Quinn, 65, had brain cancer.
Quinn and business partner Max Fuller founded U.S. Xpress in 1985. Today the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company is ranked No. 15 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers and is the third-largest truckload carrier.
He was ATA’s chairman from October 2005 to June 2007, serving an extra eight months following the sudden death of incoming ATA chairman C.J. “Mac” McCormick III.
“Pat was a tremendous business partner and he had a real passion for working to make a difference in our industry,” said Fuller, who is also CEO of U.S. Xpress.
Quinn “excelled in sales and his legal background was very valuable, especially during the first days of the company as deregulation was helping to revolutionize the transportation industry,” Fuller said in a statement released by the company.
While he was ATA chairman, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist named him to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, which held meetings and hearings for two years discussing the future of the nation’s infrastructure.
“Pat’s participation on the [commission] was one of many examples where his knowledge and passion for transportation brought him to the forefront in his service to the industry and nation,” ATA President Bill Graves said in a statement. “He will be missed.”
Quinn is survived by his wife of 43 years, Anna Marie, three children and seven grandchildren. His oldest daughter, Lisa Pate, serves as executive vice president and general counsel for U.S. Xpress, and his son Brian is vice president and general manager of the company’s international business unit.
