Irene E. Finley

Irene Emma Lou Finley departed this life on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at the Legacy of Herington, Kansas.  She was the daughter of Ralph William and Pearl Irene (Knopp) Latzke.  She was born August 10, 1930, at Junction City.   She was raised in the Lyona area with her two sisters, Elaine and Millicent.

Irene graduated from Chapman High School with the class of 1948.  She attended Kansas Wesleyan University a couple of years and then taught at a one room school house near Lyona. She married Robert H. Finley, February 23, 1951, at the Lyona Methodist Church. They were the parents of four children, Ralph, Mary, Kathleen, and John. Early in her marriage she raised and sold German shepherds and then some time later raised shelties. She was very active and involved with her children.  She raised cucumbers, tomatoes, and other garden vegetables. She canned them and made them last through the winter until the next season.   She taught her children the importance of being self-sufficient and how to live off the land. 

Her heart was deeply saddened the night of June 10, 1976, when a sudden thunderstorm moved in.  Her nineteen year old son, John, would perish due to injuries received in a motorcycle accident.  She and her husband, Bob, were married 62 years when he preceded in death on May 8, 2013; she is also preceded in death by her sister, Millicent Kind; and her parents.

She is survived by a son, Ralph Finley, and his wife Donna of Chapman; two daughters, Mary McIntyre, husband Blake of Osage City, Kathleen Svitak, husband Randy of Pilsen;  a sister, Elaine Rucker, husband John of Junction City; brother-in-law, Billy Kind of Chapman; six grandchildren, Christopher, Joseph, Nicholas, Daniel, Damien, Shane; and 13 great grandchildren Emily, Hannah, Molly, Ella, Nathaniel, Ethan, Leah, Daniela, Shania, Payton, Jonah, Katelyn, and Rebecca (two of who were adopted). 

Memorials have been designated to Lyona Methodist Church or the Hospice of Dickinson County; and may be sent in care of Zeiner Funeral Home-Herington Chapel, 404 S. Broadway, Herington, KS, 67449-3038.