Elizabeth Finnegan

Of Weston, Belmont and Milton passed away peacefully on Wednesday evening, September 14, at her home in Weston, Massachusetts after a lengthy series of complications associated with scleroderma. She was 82 years old. Libby was born in Muscatine, Iowa on April 14, 1923, the only child of Robert E. Lee and Genevieve Marie Ryan, both of Muscatine. She grew up in Davenport, Iowa where she attended both Davenport Junior High School and High School. She then attended Trinity College in Washington DC, where she majored in sociology and minored in economics, graduating with a BA in 1945. That fall she married her husband, George T. (Ted) Finnegan, a Harvard College and Naval Academy graduate. From 1945 through 1950, she and her husband moved frequently within the continental United States while he served with distinction as an officer in the U.S. Navy. Upon his retirement from active service and enrollment at Harvard Law School, the family settled in the Boston area, moving back to his hometown of Milton, Massachusetts in 1951. Libby and Ted had five children between 1947 and 1957. The family lived in Milton from 1951 through 1984. During this period, in addition to caring for her family, Libby divided her time between her family, her profession as an elementary school teacher, community support activities, and several hobbies she felt strongly about. The family was a member of Saint Mary's parish in Milton. At Saint Mary's Catholic Elementary School, Libby contributed her time to run the Great Books extracurricular reading program at the junior high. She later participated in the creation of Cardinal Cushing's St. Nicholas Cotillion and served on the Cotillion Board during its early formative years. Libby was also an active Trinity College alumna, serving variably as sponsor, chair and co-chair of numerous Trinity fundraising events in the Boston area. She supported the Girl Scouts in Milton as a troup leader as well. Throughout this busy period she found time to develop and cultivate three hobbies that turned into longstanding avocations, contract bridge playing, dog breeding and decorative painting. Libby had grown up playing cards seriously - her mother and grandmother were nationally ranked bridge players. Libby loved all types of card games, which she used to entertain and entrance her children and grandchildren, but she was absolutely devoted to bridge. Libby remained an active and competitive player throughout her life. It gave her great joy, and she truly cherished the many dear friendships and happy memories she accumulated through her bridge associations. Libby also had a longstanding love of dogs. She owned and bred pugs for over forty years after her purchase of the family's beloved first pug Dynamite. She was a member of the Pug Dog Club of America and other local PDC chapters. In partnership with several breeder friends she produced and owned many champions, the most recent of which were Mei Lee, Tiger, Findcy and Charger, all of which were exceptionally successful in conformation competition. Lastly, Libby maintained a lifelong commitment to decorative painting, at which she was extremely skilled. She produced many elaborately designed and beautifully painted decorative trays and other keepsakes for friends and family members. Later in her life she became interested in decorative flower arrangement and became an active participant in the Belmont Garden Club. In 1984, after her mother Genevieve passed away in Milton, Libby moved to Belmont, Massachusetts near the family of her eldest daughter Catherine and her first grandchildren. She remained in Belmont through 2003. During this time, she divided her family time and attention among her ten grandchildren in Belmont, Weston and Washington DC. Her houses, first on Grosvenor Road and then on Concord Avenue, were their favorite homes-away-from-home: predictably full of games and treats, busy with stories and sleepovers, cooking projects and long walks in the woods with Grandma Libby and her pugs. Having previously acquired her real estate license in Milton, she began working as a real estate associate in the Belmont and Lexington market, where she remained successfully engaged until her retirement. During this time, she also contributed significant time and attention to the Belmont Council on Aging, where she served as an active, longtime board member. While living in Belmont, she was an active member of St. Joseph's Parish where she served as a Eucharistic Minister. In late 2003, Libby decided to sell her home on Concord Avenue on Belmont Hill and move to the home of her daughter Mary Elizabeth and her family in Weston, Massachusetts, where she also became a member of St. Julia's parish. Libby is survived by her husband, George T. Finnegan, and 4 of her 5 children and their spouses: Catherine and Dr. Michael Shortsleeve of Lincoln, MA., Mary Elizabeth (Maliz) and Jim Beams of Weston, MA., Eileen Finnegan of Boston, and Robert Finnegan and Kyung Hee Kim of Washington, DC. She also leaves ten grandchildren all of whom will miss her very much: Brian, Christine, Kara and Michelle Shortsleeve; Elizabeth, Stephen and Catherine, Victoria Finnegan; and Morgan, Robert and Keaton Beams. Lastly, Libby leaves two cousins with whom she grew up in Muscatine, Iowa and had since remained close: John Mendenhall of Greenwich, CT and Agnes Haekle of Altedina, CA. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, September 17 at 11 AM at St Julia's Catholic Church, 374 Boston Post Rd., Weston, MA. The Mass will be said by Rev. Frank Conroy. An open luncheon reception will be held for all friends of Libby and her family, immediately after the Mass, at the home of Maliz and Jim Beams, 20 Green Lane, Weston, MA 02493. At Libby's request, any donations should be sent to the Franciscan Children's Hospital & Rehabilitation Center, 30 Warren St., Brighton, MA 02135. www.lawlerfuneralhome.com Lawler & Crosby Funeral Home 617-323-5600