Newsday (New York), May 21, 2006, Sunday

Copyright 2006 Newsday
Newsday

Distributed by Knight/Ridder Tribune News Service

May 21, 2006 Sunday

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

HEADLINE: Col. Daniel L. Finke Jr., avid boater, traveler

BYLINE: Emi Endo, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

BODY:
May 21--Retired U.S. Army Reserve Col. Daniel L. Finke Jr., of Centereach, died Monday at Stony Brook University Hospital after a long battle with an illness. He was 76.
A fan of big-band tunes and crossword puzzles, Finke enjoyed boating in Setauket and Port Jefferson Harbor, said his daughter, Paris Helene Loesch, of Llewellyn Park, N.J.
"He loved the water, especially the North Shore and the Long Island Sound, where he spent many summers boating with his family," she said. His most recent powerboat was dubbed "The Colonel."
Born in Brooklyn on Nov. 25, 1929, to Daniel L. Finke, an inventor, and his wife Katherine, he graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. He attended Empire State College and then the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University in Ithaca. Later, he attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
He joined the New York National Guard in 1951, where he served until he was honorably discharged in 1970. He also served in the 244th Medical Group of the U.S. Army Reserves, where he earned awards including the Meritorious Service Award in 1981. He retired from the Army Reserves in 1989.
He married Barbara Jeanne Wilson on Nov. 10, 1956, in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Finke worked in the Northport VA Medical Center from 1969 until 1973 before joining the Suffolk County Health Department, where he worked until 1979. He then worked in the county's Labor Department until he retired in the early 1990s.
Finke enjoyed traveling around the East Coast and Midwest. At home, he believed in doing repairs himself, said his daughter, who called him a "tinkerer. He had things jury-rigged like you couldn't believe." When the weekend came around, he would cook pea soup, stews or a clam dish, she said.
With his wife, he volunteered for the American Cancer Society.
In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by his son, Daniel Mark Finke, of Montclair, N.J., and six grandchildren. Another son, Christian Brett Finke, died in a swimming accident in 1979.
Visitation will be held at the O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Centereach today from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be said tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church in Centereach, followed by burial in Calverton National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the 16 North Nursing Education Account, Office of Advancement, Stony Brook University Hospital, HSC Level 3, Room 122, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8304.
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