Barbara Jean (Luce) Finnegan (1926 - 2022)

Born 24 Jan 1926 in Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, United States

Ancestors

Wife of Cyril Thomas Nicholis Finnegan — married 15 Jun 1946 in Portland, Oregon, United States

Descendants

Died 6 Feb 2022 at age 96 in Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jerry Finnegan [send private message]

Biography

Barbs was born 24 Jan 1926 in Beloit, WI. She was the daughter of Harry and Marie (Joy) Luce.

She was educated in the Beloit School system, graduating from Beloit High in 1943 and, with the exception of about two years after the second world war, lived her entire life in Beloit.

She was walking across the Portland Ave. bridge in Beloit with her cousin, Joan, one day in (about) 1944 when a sailor walked by. When she looked back over her shoulder, she saw that he was doing the same. A conversation ensued. He was in town while attending a mechanics school at the Fairbanks Diesel Engine School, where many of the Navy's smaller ship's engines were manufactured. By the time his school was completed the two had grown quite fond of each other, and became engaged. Her parents weren't too fond of him as he was a Catholic boy, but when she became engaged to Cy her parents relented. When Cy's ship was returned to the U.S. after the war for decommissioning in Portland, Or., they drove her to the west coast so the couple could be married.

After the wedding she moved to Minnesota where she arrived in Minneapolis, at the door of Cy's Aunt Olive, with a hand-written letter of introduction and a suit case.

After his discharge from the Navy they found a place to stay in Litchfield and began their family. The oldest son was born in April, 1947. Eventually their family would include seven boys and a lone girl.

Shortly after the new arrival they decided to move to Beloit where Cy took up employment at the Fairbanks-Morse factory. In January, 1949 their second child was born and Cy's entrepreneurial spirit kicked in.

With Barbs by his side he branched out into the business world, working for Standard Oil Co. and Pure Oil (the precursor to Union 76), where they would meet the couple that would be their best friends for life, Joel and Ceil Pipitone. Eventually they went into business as an independent oiler, operating under the name of Finnegan Super Gas, running a large home-heating-oil operation and a chain of gas stations (eventually numbering ten).

Things were going great with a growing family and growing business until about 1957. The result was the loss of the business.

They started again, almost from scratch, with a couple of gas stations and one oil-delivery truck.

Through all of this they persevered and the family began to grow again. By the time the last child was born in 1966 they had what would become known as "family one" and "family two."

Barbs was always busy, working in the office, or on the phones, and running the home.

As the years passed, the business world around them was ever changing. They had a motorcycle dealership before Cy worked as a Ford salesman, then they had a used car lot and it morphed into an outlet for recreational vehicles. They opened Beloit RV on Broad street and built a sales showroom to sell accessories. The business grew and became Finnegan RV when they took two of their sons, Mark and John, in as partners.

Her father passed away in 1990 in Florida and it became necessary to bring her mother back to Beloit as she was suffering from dementia. Barbs spent a lot of time caring for her mother as the dementia worsened, eventually allowing her mother to mercifully pass in 1993.

Cy passed away from Multiple Myeloma in January, 2000. Barbs occupied herself by looking after aging and ailing family members. She was a frequent visitor to nursing and extended care facilities until her Aunt Florence passed away. About this same time it was observed that Barbs was beginning to forget things and concern grew about her driving around town. Her car was "taken in for repairs" by her son and soon she forgot she ever had one.

By 2014 and 2015 it became obvious that Barbs suffered from the same condition that she had nursed her mother through. In 2017 she was placed in Memory Care and it was there that she lived for four and a half years.

Early on in the Covid pandemic she became ill and many thought she was doomed to be a victim. But Barbs never thought she was a victim and fought through the virus. Her dementia continued to take her down an ever darker hallway however.

She passed away silently in the early morning of 6 Feb 2022.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
   Year 1930, Census Place Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, Page 11B, Enumeration District 0014, FHL microfilm 2342343
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #57839046
   

   Barbara Luce (4), single daughter, in household of Harry Luce (26) on Grand Ave, Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, USA. Born in Wisconsin.

2. ↑ 1940 Census: "1940 United States Federal Census"
   Year 1940, Census Place Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, Roll m-t0627-04519, Page 16B, Enumeration District 53-19
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #78409956
   

   Barban Jean Luce (14), single daughter, in household of Harry F Luce (36) in Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin. Born in Wisconsin.

3. ↑ 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
   National Archives at Washington, DC, Washington, D.C., Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950, Year 1950, Census Place Perry Go Place, Rock, Wisconsin, Roll 5245, Page 9, Enumeration District 53-43
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #119630336
   

   Barbara J Finnegan (24), wife, in household of Cyril J N Finnegan Jr (23) in Perry Go Place, Rock, Wisconsin, USA. Born in Wisconsin.

4. ↑ personal recollections of Jerry F.

• The Luce Family Tree, Descendants of William Henry Luce and Diantha Colwell. Written by Mrs. Warren (Ruth) Giles. Printed in 1972. D. Brandt has a copy.
• Bates-Dyson-Hatch Families, by Larry Krug, published 1983, photocopied pages from the book, p.148. D. Brandt has a copy.