Mary Nell Finch

On Saturday, March 29, 2025, our beloved mother, Mary Nell (Lantrip) Finch, surrounded by loving family, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and reunite with the loved ones who had gone before her.

Mary was born in Perryville, Texas, on November 16th, 1931, to Joseph Lewis Lantrip, and Era (Stephenson) Lantrip, a hard working share-cropper farming family. She had one older sister, Jimmie Lou (Krecek), an older brother, Bobby Joe, and one younger sister, Joan Marie (Nance).

Mary’s first five, and most loved childhood years, were spent in several farming communities in the rural area of East Texas. For better work opportunities, her family relocated to Dallas, as both Lewis and Era went to work for Model Tailors in the clothing industry. Mary made it through her time in Dallas, but the highlight of every year was summer vacations spent with her grandparents “Mama and Papa Steve” (Stephenson) on their farm in East Texas.

Very early on, Mary began showing her traits of hard work and dedication by graduating high school at N.R. Crozier Technical High School while earning membership in the National Honor Society. Not having the resources for college, she then went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in downtown Dallas. It was a “Ma Bell” work friend who would introduce her to a very special Army soldier.

Mary met Richard “Dick” Finch while on a blind date with her friends Mazel and Joe. Dick had been drafted into the Army during the Korean war era, and was attending helicopter mechanic school at the San Marcos Texas Army Air-Field. Dick and Mary were married on November 20, 1954 at the family home in Dallas. In a few days, after saying goodbye to family in East Texas, Dick and Mary loaded up in Dick’s green 1951 Mercury and headed for Washington State, where they would live the rest of their lives.

In marriage, Mary beautifully lived out her character trait of Faithfulness. She and Dick were married from November 20, 1954 until Dick passed away on December 4, 2021. For 67 years, they both faithfully lived out their marriage vows of “For better or worse, till death do us part.”

Mary and Dick were blessed with five children during their early years of marriage - Rhonda (Talbert), Brian Finch, Alan Finch, and Benjamin Finch. Mary showed the traits of determination and resilience when their firstborn child, Lewis Hunt Finch, was born prematurely and lived only a few hours.

Mary lived all of life with love, joy, and courage through the good times and the bad. Having been too poor to afford books as a child, she had a lifelong hunger for reading, owning, and sharing books. She made her Mama Steve proud by becoming an amazing crafter of hand-stitched heirloom quilts. As many of you know, she maintained a deep love of family and friends. This love was often expressed through regular and frequent writing of hand-made cards and letters. She would also express her love of God, family, and life through writing poetry. After Jesus and family, her church home was a cherished refuge of love, peace, and community.

If you would say that Mary sounds like quite the amazing lady, we, her children, couldn’t agree with you more. Words alone fall short of what she meant to us and how much we will miss her until we’re all reunited in the Kingdom of Heaven. With that said, we know what our mom would like you to know - that her faith in Jesus was a spring of living water in her life, growing all things beautiful and pure, and redeeming all things which began in sorrow. It is because of Jesus that we have so much cause to celebrate her life, which was faithfully and wonderfully lived. We can hear her asking now - “Would you like to trust in Jesus? Do you thirst for the life I found in Him?”

Mary was preceded in death by her father and mother, sister Jimmie, brother Bobby, and her beloved husband Richard. She is survived by her sister Joan, her daughter Rhonda, sons Brian, Alan, and Ben, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many dear friends. Thank you for joining us in celebrating the life of Mary Nell (Lantrip) Finch.