LYNN DURNING FINN

FINN, Lynn Durning Loving wife, mother and grandmother Lynn Durning Finn, a resident of Wellesley for over forty years, died from MSA, Multiple Systems Atrophy, Friday, December 29, 2017 at the age of 76. Mrs. Finn was born in Brooklyn, NY daughter of the late James and Marie (Williams) McInerney. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Joseph F. Finn, Jr. of Wellesley and her four children: Christopher J. Finn and his wife Heather Finn of Lincoln, Maryellen F. Kottenstette and her husband Dr. Nicholas Kottenstette of Sterling, Elizabeth F. Payne and her husband Adam Payne of Natick and Andrew T. Finn and his wife Nicole Finn of Watertown. She is also survived by her 10 treasured grandchildren: Catherine, Elizabeth and Joseph Finn, Marie, Therese, Claire, Ignatius and Cecilia Kottenstette and Finn and Amelie Payne. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. An avid gardener and gracious homemaker. She was also a voracious reader and lover of English murder mysteries. She was a graduate of St. Joseph's College, Maryland earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1962, before earning her Masters of Science in Nursing from Boston University in 1969. She was both a practicing nurse and a former instructor of nursing at Boston College. Her nursing career began as a visiting nurse in Harlem in 1962. Continuing in New York City, she worked in the ICU at Cornell Medical Center through 1966. Throughout her career, Mrs. Finn dedicated her time and energy to the care of and service to the sick and working poor. From leading the medical teams to care for the Vietnamese Boat People in the early 1980's and working with the Vietnamese refugees at the St. Julie Asian Center in Lowell, to organizing and leading medical aid trips to Haiti, she gave of her time freely and passionately. As a Dame in the Order of Malta, she worked as part of the nursing staff caring for the Procession des Malades on pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. She was the true embodiment of the Mission of Malta, to care for the sick poor. Mrs. Finn founded the Wellness Clinic at St. Francis Shrine, Arch Street, as well as the Wellness Clinic at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. She sat on the Board of Trustees of the Caritas Good Samaritan Hospice, as well as the Board of Trustees at St. Sebastian's School where she was also the President of the Guild of St. Irene. Mrs. Finn was recognized for her work with the sick and disenfranchised on numerous occasions. She was presented with the Silver Key Award from the Charitable Irish Society in recognition for her work with Irish immigrants, as well as the Malta Fitzgerald Award for service to the sick-poor. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, January 3rd at 10AM in St. John the Evangelist Church, 9 Glen Rd., Wellesley Hills. Interment will be private. Visiting hours will be Tuesday, from 4-8PM at the Henry J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home, 56 Washington St., WELLESLEY HILLS. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mrs. Finn's memory may be made to Mass General Hospital Ataxia Unit for Multiple Systems Atrophy Research at https://giving.massgeneral.org/support-neurology/behavioral-cognitive-neurology-division/ Henry J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home BurkeFamilyFuneralHomes.com

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