Betty Wray Finch

BETTY WRAY FINCH 81, of Chandler, AZ, formerly of Pueblo West, CO passed away on October 8, 2015. She is preceded in death by her parents, Wray and Glorene Hertzlin. She is also preceded in death by her brother, Harold Swartz. She is survived by her loving husband of 33 years, Ed Finch. Also survived by her 6 children, Michael (Evelyn) Steeb, Tempe, AZ; Debbie (Keith) Kemper, Pueblo West, CO; Shari Clabaugh, Lakewood, CO; Kari (Chris) Kirkpatrick, Pueblo West, CO; Michele (Wes) Heusel, Pueblo, CO; Steve (Nikki) Finch, Howard, CO; also survived by 11 grandchildren, Amber (Nic) Herron; Annie Ferriera, Austen (Kayla) Novak, Caila (Todd) Whittemore, Ashley Kloess, David Linkowski, Derrek Steeb, Kyle Clabaugh, Cortney Clabaugh, Blaine Kirkpatrick and Kiera Kirkpatrick; and 6 great grandchildren, Devon Neff, Dylon Neff, Hayden Novak, Gavin Novak, Wyatt Whittemore and Cash Steeb. She is also survived by nephews Joe (Linda) Swartz, David Swartz and niece, Tanya (Andre) Hannah.

Betty started her life in an orphanage where she was adopted out at the age of 8 by her parents, Wray and Glorene Hertzlin. During her younger years as a child and teenager, she attended catholic school. She always felt guilty for being adopted while her brother remained in the orphanage. When she turned 18 she adopted her brother, Harold Swartz, out of the orphanage. He was 16 at the time he was adopted out. Keeping family together was always important to our mom.

Mom’s desire to have a big family, since she was raised an only child, came true when she had 6 children of her own. As children growing up in Avon Lake, OH, our mom used to volunteer at our elementary school. She would supervise during recess and also ran “The Green Box” craft shed. All the kids in the neighborhood would come to the playground and do arts and crafts. We would make key chains and pot holders and all kinds of neat crafts. We also have many fond memories of mom taking us to spend time at our grandpa’s house out on Granger Lake. We would roll down the hill in the backyard and get chased by the swan and the geese. We took a special vacation to Lake George, New York with grandpa. This was a special time for mom and all of us.

Our family moved to Colorado from Avon Lake, Ohio in April of 1974, where we established a new home in Pueblo West. Through this time we remember mom working up to 3 jobs at one time to keep all of us kids together with food on the table and clothes on our backs. No matter how little we had, mom always made sure that Christmas was special. We would all get a pair of pajamas to open up the night before. On Christmas morning we would eat a grand breakfast. Once all the adults were up and had a cup of coffee in their hands, we could open up our gifts. Mom always prepared a big feast for Christmas dinner. Everyone came together to laugh, play games and spend time with family. She would also spend many hours baking cookies, candy and fudge to have for the holidays. These special traditions continued after she married a very special man. The man we call dad.

In 1980 Betty met the most wonderful man a woman and family could ask for, Ed Finch. In our eyes, Ed was a saint and a role model for taking on the responsibility of a lady and her 6 children. Ed and our mom married on October 30th, 1982. Ed provided a good life and home for our mom and us kids. Ed loved our mom unconditionally. He raised us kids as if we were his own. Our dad had a special name for our mom…she was affectionately known as “Boss.”

There are so many special memories to share about mom, here are just a few; coming home from school and mom handing us a brush to brush her hair. We would stand on the coach behind her and brush her locks of red hair for a couple hours…or so it seemed. She enjoyed getting her hair brushed and we enjoyed brushing her hair. She had a special love for animals. Growing up, we always had animals in the house from dogs to cats and birds to hamsters. Animals were a big part of her life. Mom was also an avid reader and would read for hours and get lost in a novel. She could plant and grow an amazing garden. She had a great love of gardening and a passion for canning and freezing vegetables. Every summer we would can tomatoes, salsa, and a tomato, pepper and onion base for spaghetti. We would freeze corn, green beans and can pickles among other things. We would even can sauerkraut. Our mom was an amazing cook. We have so many great memories of eating her home-cooked meals or appetizers at a party or family get together. She loved to cook and loved to feed people; you never went away hungry from mom’s house. Our favorite recipe was her ham and scalloped potatoes. Us four girls still make her recipe to this day and have passed it down to our children. She introduced us to many genres of music and taught us to appreciate the art of music and dance.

Mom loved each of us in her own special way. We are all thankful for the special gifts we received from our mom; the gift of a strong work ethic. Through her actions she taught us that if you work hard and you stay focused you will succeed at anything you choose. The gift of honesty, she always said, “if you are honest you don’t ever have to remember your story”…she would also say, “you can do just about anything, but don’t lie to me…” We all knew what would happen if we lied to her!!! What we are most thankful for was her gift of giving to others even when she didn’t have it to give. She taught us to love unconditionally and give to those less fortunate while expecting nothing in return.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, October 29, 2015, at T.G. McCarthy Funeral Home with inurnment to follow at Imperial Memorial Gardens. Please visit Betty’s online memorial at www.tgmccarthy.com. Those who wish may make donations in memory of Betty Finch to the Humane Society of the United States through the funeral home office. Arrangements, T.G. McCarthy Funeral Home.