OBITUARY
Her passion for politics and intense involvement in Surf City will
never be forgotten.
That’s how friends and family say they will remember 37-year
Huntington Beach resident and former Mayor Ruth Finley, who died Monday
morning of natural causes at age 78 at a Long Beach care facility.
Finley served on many boards, among them the Amigos de Bolsa Chica
that she helped found 25 years ago. She also served one year as
Huntington Beach mayor in the midst of her eight-year stint on the City
Council from 1980 to 1988.
“I’m very proud of her and always perceived my mother as someone that
made a difference in the city,” said her son, Dave Finley, 39.
She made many numerous friends during her time in Huntington Beach,
among them Dean Albright and Ruth Bailey.
Bailey, 75 and also a former mayor, and she were both involved with
the League of Women Voters.
“[The League of Women Voters] is where we began our political
aspirations, we were always working together on things for the city,”
Bailey said. “She was a very bright woman, very intelligent and a good
friend.”
Albright first met Finley when the two were on the city’s
environmental board.
“She was one of the best council people we had, she was very active
with people in the community,” Albright said.
Finley also spent much of her time volunteering at the Huntington
Beach Library with her sister Mary Morgan.
Finley is survived by husband of 47 years, Gerald; their three
children: Dave Finley, Elaine Minamide and Laura Cole; and seven
grandchildren.
A memorial service for family and friends will be held at 11 a.m.
Sunday at the Huntington Beach Central Park Amphitheater behind the
Huntington Beach Library at 7111 Talbert Ave.
The family is asking people to call Amigos de Bolsa Chica at (714)
840-1575 or Friends of the Huntington Beach Library at (714) 842-4481 to
donate flowers.
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