David E. Finney, 88
STAMFORD, Vt. — David Eugene Finney, 88, of 117 Jepson Road died Friday, Jan. 6, 2006, at Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington, where he had resided since October 2004.
Born in Deer Park, Wash., on Dec. 10, 1917, son of Robert W. and Alice Trombley Finney, he moved to Stamford as a child and attended elementary schools there and in North Adams, Mass. He graduated from Drury High School in North Adams in 1936.
An Army Air Forces veteran of World War II, he served in Australia and was involved in campaigns in Bismark Archipelago, Papua New Guinea and the Northern Solomons. He also was in the Foreign Service for three years and was discharged as a master sergeant in August 1945.
Mr. Finney was employed by the former Windsor Motors in North Adams as a service manager from 1971 to 1977. He also owned and operated Union Servicenter Inc., a service station on Beaver Street in North Adams, moving the business in 1964 to Union Street.
Before entering the service in 1940, Mr. Finney owned a horse stable and rented horses. He also worked at a poultry hatchery in Troy, N.Y., and was employed by the former Sprague Electric Co. in North Adams. Later, he worked at General Electric Co. in Pittsfield, Mass., in the Naval Ordnance department from 1946 to 1955.
In 1946, he performed as an aerial performer with an acrobatic team, the Eugene Troop, which was organized by his father in 1907.
In 1977, Mr. Finney and his wife, the former Ellison J. Lawrence, joined the Peace Corps for a two-year term in Botswana. He was a mechanics instructor with Central Transport Organization in Gaborone, training young men to maintain automobiles and trucks both in the classroom and on the job.
He was a longtime active member of Stamford Community Church, where he was an honorary life deacon, and of Dr. George L. Curran Post 996 Veterans of Foreign Wars in North Adams. He was also a member of Greylock Lafayette Lodge of Masons in North Adams and a former member of the Vermont State and National granges.
Besides his wife, whom he married Oct. 28, 1950, he leaves two sons, Alden Finney of Long Meach, Miss., and Nathan Finney of Stamford; four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by a daughter, Martha Finney Gaudreau, two sisters, Lorraine Garland and Roberta Ruebesam, and his brother, Milton Finney.
FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral for Mr. Finney will be conducted in the spring at Stamford Community Church by the Rev. William Wilson. There will be no calling hours. Burial will be at a later date at the convenience of the family.
Memorial donations may be made to Stamford Community Church or the Vermont Veterans Home Patient Activity Fund, through AUGE-SAN SOUCIE-SIMMONS Funeral Home, 46 North Church St., North Adams, MA 01247, which is in charge of arrangements.