Page created by: Rhelyn Finch

Terrel, our dad, loving husband of 55 years to our mother, and adoring father-in-law and grandfather, was our family’s “John Wayne.” He was strong, gritty and stoic. He had a quiet confidence and was a source of strength and comfort. He was fiercely loyal to his family and friends and was always there to help with whatever needed to be done. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t grow, build or create whether it be fields of corn and sweet potatoes or Christmas trees, or a doll house or the home where he raised us. He loved piddling in his workshop, fishing and being out on his tractor for hours on end.

He proudly served as a Military Policeman with the Army in Vietnam. Little could anyone know then that exposure to agent orange while serving his country would lead to Parkinson’s Disease decades later. Dad fought courageously and without complaint throughout the increasingly difficult mobility limitations the disease presented. He never gave up and neither did our mother who was steadfast in being his advocate and caregiver. There wasn’t a mountain she didn’t move to make sure he had the best care possible. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our mom for loving our dad so much and to all the family, friends and caregivers who have helped mom and us along the way. We appreciate you all more than words can express. Our hope and prayers are that one day research will bring a cure to this horrible disease. We thank you for making your tribute in his honor to further those research efforts.

-The Finch Family


His Journey’s Just Begun

Don’t think of him as gone away
his journey’s just begun,
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.
Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched…
for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.
(By Ellen Brenneman, poet)