Born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia, Quick had a lifelong passion for sports. He was an elite swimmer, earning spots on junior Olympic teams growing up and was described as "indomitable competitor." That love for athletics wasn't just relegated to the water. Quick was also a diehard Washington football fan, and sharing that passion was the source of many cherished occasions in the Quick household once Zachary had a family of his own.
"No matter where we were stationed, we always had the upper echelon cable so that we could watch the Redskins back in the day," said Bethany Quick, his former wife. "Didn't matter where we were, he had to watch."
Allie, his eldest daughter, and her younger sisters didn't necessarily understand the "X's and O's," but seeing how happy her dad was about Washington playing well was enough to nuzzle the team into their hearts.
"Even if I didn't understand the game, I remember I always saw the burgundy & gold," she said with a laugh. "You knew what it meant even if you didn't really understand what was happening on the screen. It was like, 'He's cheering, oh, burgundy & gold is doing well!'"
Memories like those have taken on deeper significance in the decade since Quick passed away. They tell a story of how the feelings fostered by sports stick far longer than what actually transpired within the white lines. Underscoring that remarkable quality is key to what TAPS does through its "Teams4Taps" program, which works with sports teams across the country to bring joy to surviving military families and to honor the lives of their fallen heroes.