Bobbie Jean Finch's Obituary
Bobbie Jean Lewis Finch “Jean” of McKinney, TX passed away on November 17,2016 after a long period of declining health. She was the youngest child born to Cecil Truman Lewis and Susie Mae Harrison Lewis on June 7, 1935 in Avery, TX. There, she shared the experiences of farm and small town life with her older brother Boyce (Pete) and older sister Nona Faye. Life on an East Texas farm during and just following the Great Depression could be difficult. The Lewis’ lived in a four room house just outside of Avery. The family lived on what they were able to raise in the way of crops, poultry, and livestock, trading the fruits of their labor for mercantile. This required all members to do their part in taking care of household and farm chores, many to be started before sunrise and completed before leaving for work or school. During harvest, work sometimes went into the early morning hours. Life for the Lewis’ had its lighter side as well. The “house in the woods” seemed to be the place where the neighboring kids liked to be, where there were often Sunday afternoon baseball games in the field by the house, friends dropping by on the weekend, sometimes sleeping over, or occasionally going into town for a movie. There were always relatives nearby to get together on holidays and special occasions, often coming and going by the wagon load. Though the family worked long days and money was often scarce, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis saw to it that their children regularly attended school and church so they could be prepared to pursue better lives. While attending Avery High School, Jean played on the basketball team, performed with the drill team and sang in the choir. After graduation, she moved to Dallas to share an apartment with three girl friends. It was during this time that Jean met a young man stationed at Carswell Air Force Base, Carl Dane Finch, who would become her husband of more than 60 years. Jean began a 35 year long career with AT&T subsidiary Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1955 at the age of 20. She began as an administrative assistant and quickly rose in the ranks as a Customer Services Supervisor and would retire in December 1990 as a Manager in the Network Engineering Department. One of Jean’s many accomplishments at Southwestern Bell Telephone was her contribution to the implementation of 9-1-1 service in the Dallas metropolitan exchange area, a network serving 18 communities and one million access lines in 1988. Jean has been a longtime member of the AT&T Pioneers Volunteer Network which tackles problems like hunger and homelessness, helps disadvantaged students, cell phones for soldiers, disaster relief funds, etc … Having a fulltime career did not distract Jean from being an involved mother of three beloved children, Nona Renee, Cary Dane and Gary Duane who she kept involved in various sports, extracurricular activities and children’s/youth church programs. Many family vacations would take the Finch family to the mountains, lakes and golf courses of Hot Springs Village. After retirement, Jean and Carl purchased a townhome oftheir own at HSV where they would spend months at a time to enjoy life and host many groups of family and friends who now cherish wonderful memories of time with Jean and Carl fishing, boating, golfing, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, playing family games, visiting attractions and museums, and much more. Jean was a faithful member of the Allen Heights Baptist Church in Allen where she sang in the choir, was a Sunday school teacher, helped prepare food for various activities and many Sundays would help count the offertory. Jean loved her church family in Allen and also found a church family in Hot Springs Village during the times she would be there. She leaves to cherish her memory, her husband, Carl Finch; three children, daughter, Renee Potts and husband, Sammy; son, Cary Finch and wife, Diana, and son, Gary Finch and wife Maria; granddaughters, Misti Hargrove, Stacy and (David) Ellis, Lori Lynn Finch, Savannah Finch and Adriana Ochoa; grandsons, Casey Finch, Chad and (Mandie) Hargrove and Abelardo Ochoa; great-grandchildren, Travis Kennedy, Jonathan Staggs, Kimber Ellis, Elijah Castanon, Luke Hargrove and Jenna Hargrove. Much loved brothers and sisters-in-law and numerous nieces and nephews. Jean is now rejoicing in heaven with her parents, Cecil and Susie Lewis and sibilings, Pete Lewis and Nona Davis. Jean will be remembered as a woman of devout faith and integrity who set a godly example for everyone who knew her. The Finch family would like to thank the management and staff of Castleridge Senior Living in McKinney and Compass Hospice of North Dallas for providing such wonderful care for Jean. Family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, Monday, November 21, 2016 at Restland Funeral Home. The service for Bobbie Finch will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at Allen Heights Baptist Church in Allen. Interment will be at Restland Cemetery in Dallas immediately following the service. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243. In lieu of flowers, memorials donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association or Compass Hospice 972-233-0525.
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