Velma R. Finfinger

1920 - 07

Velma Ruth Ware Finfinger, 91, passed away Saturday, March 3, 2012, at Atria Assisted Living in Baldwin. Born July 2, 1920, to Clifton Ware and Daisy Asenath McClelland Ware, in Cooperstown, she was the middle of four children. Velma grew up during the Great Depression of 1929 which taught her the meaning of hard work, the ability to make due with what little she had and to appreciate what others did for her. Velma was always cooking, baking, mending clothes and tending to her garden. Many a fall evening was filled with Velma preparing foods for canning and the smell of her husband's cigar as he tended the pressure cooker in the basement. Velma was also an accomplished seamstress and made many of the clothes both she and her daughter wore. Velma was married Aug. 26, 1941, to Charles Oliver Finfinger in Cochranton with Charles being a pharmacist and Velma being a war plant worker. After the war, the couple moved to West Elizabeth. From 1945 on they were active members of Olivet Presbyterian Church of West Elizabeth. After Charles's death in 1976, Velma continued on as a tireless worker for the church. Velma helped at church dinners, the food bank, taught Sunday and bible school, scrubbed pots and pans and did anything she could to further the work of the Lord in West Elizabeth. The remarkable thing about Velma was that the older she got, the more confident she became that God's grace was meant for her personally and that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross really did apply to her and it was sufficient to cover the inevitable shortcomings of being human. In her final days, Velma gave the impression of one whose spiritual bags were packed and she was just waiting for the Lord to stop, in his good time, to take her home. Velma was preceded in death by her parents; twin sisters, Vada and Vadna; and her husband, Charles. Surviving are her children, Roger Finfinger, of Seneca, and Suzanne Finfinger, of Pleasant Hills; a brother, Calvin Orrin Ware and his wife, Bernita, of Blooming Valley; a grandson, Mark Finfinger, of Seneca; and numerous nieces and nephews. Friends will be received from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday in the STEPHEN D. SLATER FUNERAL HOME, 1701 State Route 51 (Large), Jefferson Hills. Her funeral service will be held at the conclusion of visitation at 1 p.m. Wednesday with the Rev. Judi Slater officiating. Interment will follow in Jefferson Memorial Park Cemetery in Pleasant Hills.