Mary Elizabeth Finley, 74 of Dover Plains entered into eternal rest in the arms of her daughter, surrounded by family at her daughter’s home in Boerne, TX on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, after a very courageous battle with cancer.
Mary was born on April 22, 1945, to the late Albert Lewis Tompkins and Pearl Minnie Gray. Mary was educated in the Dover Schools and worked as a Therapy Aide at the Taconic DDSO in Wassaic, NY until her retirement in 1991.
On April 28, 1961, she married her best friend, Edward L. Finley, who passed into eternal rest on Feb. 4, 2006. Mary is survived by her children, son Thomas Finley Sr. and wife Cassie of TX with grandchildren Jason, Thomas Jr, Garret, Amanda, Noah & Callie; daughter Kitty Bryant and husband Jerry of ME with grandchildren Katrina and Deborah; daughter Brandi Finley of NY with grandchildren Angel, Timothy, Destiny & Joshua; son David Finley of NY with grandchildren Daniel, Ryan & Cheyenne; son Bruce Finley Sr and wife Monique of WV with grandchildren Amy, Amber, Bruce Jr, Edward, Jonathan, Misty, Kaitlyn & Dylan; daughter Mary Finley Salmon and husband Gerry of TX with grandchildren Jessica, Cherokee, Ashley, Erin, Hunter, Katarina & Isabella; grandchildren by love John C. and Emily T. Mary is also survived by 29 great grandchildren, Brooklynn, Kenzie, Paxton, Oliver, Beauden, Kai, Alex, Aiden, Attalie, Melody, Liam, Lincoln, Declan, Greenlee, Kendyll, Jaxon, Jonathan, Mia, Finley, Hunter, Aabigail, Charlianna, Madisyn, Kylie, Matthew, Sophia, Carter, Paisley & Kaylee-Mae . She was predeceased by her grandson Jason in 1987. Other survivors include siblings Anna Mae Heck, Kevin Tompkins & Billy Tompkins all of NY; Murvin Tompkins of CT & Sylvia Rhodes of WA; she is also preceded in death by siblings, Albert Tompkins Jr, Dorothy Jenkins, Karen Johnson & James Tompkins; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews all over the country.
Mary was a joy and light to all who knew and met her. Her faith radiated through her actions along with her strong dedication for loving others as Jesus loves. Mary spent her entire life caring for and sharing her life and love with everyone who was blessed to cross her path in this life. She thoroughly enjoyed her children, grandchildren and great children and spent her life teaching them about Jesus, singing, nature, crafting, gardening and taking the time to “stop and smell the roses”. Mary enjoyed traveling, spending time with her church family, bible studies, nature walks, the first snowfall of the season and baking. She had a smile, kind words and a warm hug for everyone she met and a helping hand for anyone in need. Her love, her faith, her inspirational talks and her desire for all to know their true value in the Lord will forever be seen in generations to come for her light and love will shine on….she was the definition of peace, love, hope, grace, forgiveness and faith all wrapped into this incredible woman that we all loved so very much. She was a true gift from God.
Mary is and will forever be missed here on earth by her family and friends who all feel so blessed to have been loved by this amazing woman. We are all comforted by knowing her beautiful soul is watching over each of us and that we will be together again with her one day.
A Celebration of Mary’s Life will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the Crossroads Church in Lagrangeville, NY. This will be a time of sharing memories, photos, stories, prayer, song, laughter and love in memory of the amazing woman she was and life she lived.
