[3][4] His father, Carl Quackenbush, was a law student who eventually became a Superior Court judge in Spokane.
[6][7] Quackenbush also taught at Gonzaga University School of Law from 1961 to 1967, and was an active Mason.
[6] On May 9, 1980, President Jimmy Carter nominated Quackenbush to the seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington vacated by Judge Marshall Allen Neill.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 18, 1980, and received his commission the same day.
[8] Quackenbush served as chief judge from 1989 to June 27, 1995, when he assumed senior status.