Gwendolyn M. Finley was the third youngest of four children born to the union of the late David and Ada (Gowdy) Page in Campbellsville -Taylor County, Kentucky May 3, 1920.
The family moved to Lynch, Kentucky when she was eight years old where her father worked in the coal mines and she attended the "Lynch Colored Public Schools". There she met and married John E. Harris Sr. From this union came three sons and a daughter. The family moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1947 and she joined Zion Baptist Church and became a dedicated church worker right away. First, as a Den Mother for the Zion Cub Scout and later the Boy Scout Troops.
In 1951 the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as one of the first black waitresses at the Union Terminal Train Station.
After her father David's death in 1953 and a divorce she and her sons moved back to Louisville and she continued her lifetime of service to the Zion Baptist Church family and the larger community.
In June 1955 she was joined in Holy Matrimony with Mr. Dewey Finley by the Rev. D.E. King. Dewey Finley served as the head of the Zion Deacon Board until his death in 1991 and Mrs. Finley continued her service and support in a variety of ways.
She served as a Nurses Aid, Usher Board Member and sang over her lifetime in all three of the Zion Choirs. In December 2010, she was honored and presented a plaque for her participation in G.F. Handel's "THE MESSIAH" since its beginning in 1951 at Zion Missionary Baptist Church
Mrs. Finley retired from full time employment with the Louisville Visiting Nurses Association in 1985 but continued her service through the church in a number of ministries and civic endeavors until her passing. She was a committed tither even when her health began to decline this past year; she made sure that her tithes were met.
She served as Resident Manager at both Mt. Lebanon and Zion Manor Housing where she organized social events and provisions to support the residents. Her favorite was the "Zion Funeral Ministry" where she helped with the cooking and organization of the food service. Her pound cakes were the rave.
Mrs. Finley served as Past President and Financial Secretary of the "Charity Pity Literary Club" which was founded in 1915. This organization is an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and the Kentucky Negro Women's Clubs. She served as Editor of the Kentucky State Association Newsletter.
These organizations have an outstanding history of Service to Humanity and the uplift of Black People in America. Their motto is: "Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee." The scope of their work is also carried out under the theme of "Lifting while Climbing". She became known simply as "Mrs. Finley" to many and anyone who knew her can attest to the fact that she lived her life following these guiding principles.
Mrs. Finley loved to laugh, entertain, and SHOP! She always found a bargain, not for herself, but for someone else who she knew needed just that one thing. She also had an adventurous streak. She never met a stranger and with three sister-friends; Ruth Coggins, Mamie Howard and Minnie Glass, went to South Africa. They stayed an extra week longer than the organized tour and enjoyed a trip of a lifetime. For several years she also was a regular participant on the Annual Bus tours organized by one of the sons of Zion, the late Rev. Wilbur Goatley who pastored a church in Eminence, Kentucky.
She was a devoted wife, great mother, loving sister, loyal friend and a very wise woman,
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Dewey Finley, President Emeritus of the Zion Deacon Board; daughter, Rosalie Harris; sons, James L. and William M. Harris; sister, Bernice Jackson; brother, Orlando Page; granddaughter, Joyce Harris-Green.
The family moved to Lynch, Kentucky when she was eight years old where her father worked in the coal mines and she attended the "Lynch Colored Public Schools". There she met and married John E. Harris Sr. From this union came three sons and a daughter. The family moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1947 and she joined Zion Baptist Church and became a dedicated church worker right away. First, as a Den Mother for the Zion Cub Scout and later the Boy Scout Troops.
In 1951 the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as one of the first black waitresses at the Union Terminal Train Station.
After her father David's death in 1953 and a divorce she and her sons moved back to Louisville and she continued her lifetime of service to the Zion Baptist Church family and the larger community.
In June 1955 she was joined in Holy Matrimony with Mr. Dewey Finley by the Rev. D.E. King. Dewey Finley served as the head of the Zion Deacon Board until his death in 1991 and Mrs. Finley continued her service and support in a variety of ways.
She served as a Nurses Aid, Usher Board Member and sang over her lifetime in all three of the Zion Choirs. In December 2010, she was honored and presented a plaque for her participation in G.F. Handel's "THE MESSIAH" since its beginning in 1951 at Zion Missionary Baptist Church
Mrs. Finley retired from full time employment with the Louisville Visiting Nurses Association in 1985 but continued her service through the church in a number of ministries and civic endeavors until her passing. She was a committed tither even when her health began to decline this past year; she made sure that her tithes were met.
She served as Resident Manager at both Mt. Lebanon and Zion Manor Housing where she organized social events and provisions to support the residents. Her favorite was the "Zion Funeral Ministry" where she helped with the cooking and organization of the food service. Her pound cakes were the rave.
Mrs. Finley served as Past President and Financial Secretary of the "Charity Pity Literary Club" which was founded in 1915. This organization is an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and the Kentucky Negro Women's Clubs. She served as Editor of the Kentucky State Association Newsletter.
These organizations have an outstanding history of Service to Humanity and the uplift of Black People in America. Their motto is: "Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee." The scope of their work is also carried out under the theme of "Lifting while Climbing". She became known simply as "Mrs. Finley" to many and anyone who knew her can attest to the fact that she lived her life following these guiding principles.
Mrs. Finley loved to laugh, entertain, and SHOP! She always found a bargain, not for herself, but for someone else who she knew needed just that one thing. She also had an adventurous streak. She never met a stranger and with three sister-friends; Ruth Coggins, Mamie Howard and Minnie Glass, went to South Africa. They stayed an extra week longer than the organized tour and enjoyed a trip of a lifetime. For several years she also was a regular participant on the Annual Bus tours organized by one of the sons of Zion, the late Rev. Wilbur Goatley who pastored a church in Eminence, Kentucky.
She was a devoted wife, great mother, loving sister, loyal friend and a very wise woman,
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Dewey Finley, President Emeritus of the Zion Deacon Board; daughter, Rosalie Harris; sons, James L. and William M. Harris; sister, Bernice Jackson; brother, Orlando Page; granddaughter, Joyce Harris-Green.
Gwendolyn M. Finley was the third youngest of four children born to the union of the late David and Ada (Gowdy) Page in Campbellsville -Taylor County, Kentucky May 3, 1920.
The family moved to Lynch, Kentucky when she was eight years old where her father worked in the coal mines and she attended the "Lynch Colored Public Schools". There she met and married John E. Harris Sr. From this union came three sons and a daughter. The family moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1947 and she joined Zion Baptist Church and became a dedicated church worker right away. First, as a Den Mother for the Zion Cub Scout and later the Boy Scout Troops.
In 1951 the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as one of the first black waitresses at the Union Terminal Train Station.
After her father David's death in 1953 and a divorce she and her sons moved back to Louisville and she continued her lifetime of service to the Zion Baptist Church family and the larger community.
In June 1955 she was joined in Holy Matrimony with Mr. Dewey Finley by the Rev. D.E. King. Dewey Finley served as the head of the Zion Deacon Board until his death in 1991 and Mrs. Finley continued her service and support in a variety of ways.
She served as a Nurses Aid, Usher Board Member and sang over her lifetime in all three of the Zion Choirs. In December 2010, she was honored and presented a plaque for her participation in G.F. Handel's "THE MESSIAH" since its beginning in 1951 at Zion Missionary Baptist Church
Mrs. Finley retired from full time employment with the Louisville Visiting Nurses Association in 1985 but continued her service through the church in a number of ministries and civic endeavors until her passing. She was a committed tither even when her health began to decline this past year; she made sure that her tithes were met.
She served as Resident Manager at both Mt. Lebanon and Zion Manor Housing where she organized social events and provisions to support the residents. Her favorite was the "Zion Funeral Ministry" where she helped with the cooking and organization of the food service. Her pound cakes were the rave.
Mrs. Finley served as Past President and Financial Secretary of the "Charity Pity Literary Club" which was founded in 1915. This organization is an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and the Kentucky Negro Women's Clubs. She served as Editor of the Kentucky State Association Newsletter.
These organizations have an outstanding history of Service to Humanity and the uplift of Black People in America. Their motto is: "Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee." The scope of their work is also carried out under the theme of "Lifting while Climbing". She became known simply as "Mrs. Finley" to many and anyone who knew her can attest to the fact that she lived her life following these guiding principles.
Mrs. Finley loved to laugh, entertain, and SHOP! She always found a bargain, not for herself, but for someone else who she knew needed just that one thing. She also had an adventurous streak. She never met a stranger and with three sister-friends; Ruth Coggins, Mamie Howard and Minnie Glass, went to South Africa. They stayed an extra week longer than the organized tour and enjoyed a trip of a lifetime. For several years she also was a regular participant on the Annual Bus tours organized by one of the sons of Zion, the late Rev. Wilbur Goatley who pastored a church in Eminence, Kentucky.
She was a devoted wife, great mother, loving sister, loyal friend and a very wise woman,
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Dewey Finley, President Emeritus of the Zion Deacon Board; daughter, Rosalie Harris; sons, James L. and William M. Harris; sister, Bernice Jackson; brother, Orlando Page; granddaughter, Joyce Harris-Green.
The family moved to Lynch, Kentucky when she was eight years old where her father worked in the coal mines and she attended the "Lynch Colored Public Schools". There she met and married John E. Harris Sr. From this union came three sons and a daughter. The family moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1947 and she joined Zion Baptist Church and became a dedicated church worker right away. First, as a Den Mother for the Zion Cub Scout and later the Boy Scout Troops.
In 1951 the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she worked as one of the first black waitresses at the Union Terminal Train Station.
After her father David's death in 1953 and a divorce she and her sons moved back to Louisville and she continued her lifetime of service to the Zion Baptist Church family and the larger community.
In June 1955 she was joined in Holy Matrimony with Mr. Dewey Finley by the Rev. D.E. King. Dewey Finley served as the head of the Zion Deacon Board until his death in 1991 and Mrs. Finley continued her service and support in a variety of ways.
She served as a Nurses Aid, Usher Board Member and sang over her lifetime in all three of the Zion Choirs. In December 2010, she was honored and presented a plaque for her participation in G.F. Handel's "THE MESSIAH" since its beginning in 1951 at Zion Missionary Baptist Church
Mrs. Finley retired from full time employment with the Louisville Visiting Nurses Association in 1985 but continued her service through the church in a number of ministries and civic endeavors until her passing. She was a committed tither even when her health began to decline this past year; she made sure that her tithes were met.
She served as Resident Manager at both Mt. Lebanon and Zion Manor Housing where she organized social events and provisions to support the residents. Her favorite was the "Zion Funeral Ministry" where she helped with the cooking and organization of the food service. Her pound cakes were the rave.
Mrs. Finley served as Past President and Financial Secretary of the "Charity Pity Literary Club" which was founded in 1915. This organization is an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and the Kentucky Negro Women's Clubs. She served as Editor of the Kentucky State Association Newsletter.
These organizations have an outstanding history of Service to Humanity and the uplift of Black People in America. Their motto is: "Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee." The scope of their work is also carried out under the theme of "Lifting while Climbing". She became known simply as "Mrs. Finley" to many and anyone who knew her can attest to the fact that she lived her life following these guiding principles.
Mrs. Finley loved to laugh, entertain, and SHOP! She always found a bargain, not for herself, but for someone else who she knew needed just that one thing. She also had an adventurous streak. She never met a stranger and with three sister-friends; Ruth Coggins, Mamie Howard and Minnie Glass, went to South Africa. They stayed an extra week longer than the organized tour and enjoyed a trip of a lifetime. For several years she also was a regular participant on the Annual Bus tours organized by one of the sons of Zion, the late Rev. Wilbur Goatley who pastored a church in Eminence, Kentucky.
She was a devoted wife, great mother, loving sister, loyal friend and a very wise woman,
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Dewey Finley, President Emeritus of the Zion Deacon Board; daughter, Rosalie Harris; sons, James L. and William M. Harris; sister, Bernice Jackson; brother, Orlando Page; granddaughter, Joyce Harris-Green.
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