Douglas Clifford Finch

Douglas Clifford Finch peacefully passed away January 29,2022 surrounded by his children. Douglas was born on Oct. 21, 1933 to Francis and Florence Finch at Resthaven Hospital in Sidney, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.

Douglas attended Resthaven School from 1st to 10th grade. He then attended CUC, a Christian boarding academy, for the last two years of high school in Lacombe, Alberta.

After high school, Douglas, known as Doug most of his life, returned to Vancouver Island and worked at several different jobs including carpentry. His most unique job may have been his work as a tug boat crewman out of Sidney. In later years, this particular job and other young adult adventures yielded fascinating stories that his children and grandkids loved to hear.

In 1959, Doug was introduced by his Canadian Cousin Grace to a USA nursing schoolmate, Lynn Trowbridge. Doug and Lynn married June 19, 1960 in Eugene, OR where they made their home. Between 1961 and 1965, they had 4 children: Sandra (Sandy), Steven (Steve), Russell (Russ), and Raymond (Ray). All 4 children were born in Springfield, OR.

The majority of Doug’s career was spent in carpentry. When he moved to the United States to marry Lynn in 1960, he worked for a flooring company in Eugene, OR. A move to Portland in 1968 found him working for a siding company for a few years. When the family took a two year sojourn to CA, Doug worked in Plant Services on the swing shift to support the family while Lynn earned her Masters’ degree in Nursing at Loma Linda University. (By the way, Lynn always said that Doug deserved half the credit for her degree.) After returning to Portland, Doug once again found himself installing and finishing hardwood floors. Most of the years he worked for either Union Floor Co. or Ryerson’s Hardwood Floors. Doug was known for his excellent craftsmanship and total reliability; requests for him to do the job were commonplace. His work was seen all over the Portland metro area from residential homes to school gyms, the Multnomah Athletic Club, and the former Memorial Coliseum to name some.

Doug was a vegetable gardener who loved sharing produce with others, an avid news watcher who enjoyed conversing about current events, and a great driver who liked weekend drives with the family as well as road trips for vacations and to see relatives, both in the USA and Canada. Doug was a man of faith who quietly lived a life of integrity, generosity, and faithfulness. He was rock solid. Old school. Wise.

One of Doug’s great legacies is the many life time friends he (and Lynn) made. Doug loved to visit 1:1 with anyone from family, friends, and neighbors, to folks at the coffee shop, barber shop, etc. Although mostly a quiet, observant listener, swapping stories was a favorite pastime. In his retirement, he made the rounds on weekdays to local restaurants for coffee to chat with “the regulars”. His love for teasing and appreciation of witty humor was well known, and his big smile will be missed by all.

Memories of Doug by his family will include: his love of ice-cream, especially Schwan’s ice-cream bars, many fun camping trips with family & friends, boating on his sons’ boats, the silly faces he made when someone attempted to take his photo, and his great pride and joy in his family. His children will remember him most as a devoted family man. He was always there.

Doug was laid to rest alongside Lynn on Feb. 7, 2022 at Lincoln Memorial in Portland, OR. Doug is survived by all 4 of his children, their spouses, 6 grand-children and 2 spouses, 3 great grandchildren, his brother, 3 sisters-in-law, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. Doug was predeceased by his parents, beloved wife, his 2 youngest brothers, his half sister, and by his precious 5 year old great grand-son, who passed away 12 days prior to Doug’s death. Expressions of sympathy and fond memories can be shared with the Finch family at www.AdvantageGateway.com.