FINCH, Shirley Louise

Copper Basin News Hayden, Az. 08/19/2010 Shirley Louise (Wickizer) Finch peacefully walked into glory Aug. 6, 2010, in Apache Junction, AZ. She was born April 2, 1932, in Binghamton, NY and adopted as a baby by Perley and Eva Wickizer. In the early 50s, she left New York and came with a girlfriend to Tucson, Arizona, where she met her future husband, Holly Oliver Finch, through a mutual friend. They were married and moved to the Hayden/Winkelman area, where he worked for Kennecott Copper Corporation until he passed away in 1965. During her lifetime she wore many “hats.” She bussed tables in a restaurant, delivered newspapers for many years, worked as a waitress in a couple of Winkelman restaurants, was a custodian and bus driver for the H/W School District, was a cook and baker at the GKI (people loved her cinnamon rolls and pies!) and she and a friend had a small grocery store in Hayden for several months. She also served on the H/W School Board and election boards and was interested in how the Town of Hayden was run, attending many council meetings. She was a good mother to over 35 foster children of all ages, sometimes having six or seven at a time. Shirley was an active member of Fellowship Baptist Church in Kearny. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and a brother, Donald. She leaves behind her brother Bill Wickizer and wife Betty, a niece Lori and nephew Brent, along with their families, all of the Binghamton, NY area. Also her cousin Leola Redman of Athens, PS, friends Flossie Lines of Monroeton, PA, Hazel Orem of Kearny, Billye Andrews of Kearny and Spokane, WA, and many others who dearly miss her. Memorial services will be held in September at Fellowship Baptist Church. A specific date will be announced later.