I never forgot Kim from our class, as she was filled with so much deeply-genuine joy and intelligence. I always wished that I had been able to know her better, but I admired her without being able to be in activities with her at school. Terry Cromwell and I talked about her in the last year before he died, as being a person whom we both admired and wished we had known better. I didn't know her married name, so I couldn't find where she was. One of her daughters wrote this obituary. In reading it, we absolutely see how Kim was (and is) as full of life and giving as we felt her to be. Kim was a truly great human being.
While researching some old training materials, I came across a power outage I was involve in at Troy Montana, where we had to drop power for the entire community. I was searching for the town notices that were sent to the residents and newspaper, for a class I taught. There I found the Obituary for Kimberly Ann Head Finley.
Kimberly passed away November 29, 2023, in Missoula.
I was fortunate to have known Kimberly and her family throughout grade school at Prescott and our Hellgate High School years, then a few more before life went separate ways. Kimberly’s family lived one house away, and her grandparents lived in a home behind us.
I recall the many days we played in our yard, and the old chicken house converted into a club house for the neighborhood kids.
Her grandparents Dan And Irene had a home at the base of Mount Jumbo with a huge front yard where many baseball games were played. There were many neighborhood gathering that happen there from baseball to the neighborhood celebrations of the 4th of July.
I recall sitting on a swing set there with Kimberly and other friends waiting and watching as Sputnik pass over. In the fall Dan had the wood cutting from the mills dropped off. For several weeks the neighborhood kids built several forts and houses, only to knock them down. Eventually we all helped Dan in stacking the wood in a pile off to side of his house for winter heat.
As winter came the hill behind her home was the sledding hill, if you had a sled fast enough, you could go almost two blocks down the road passed her grandparents’ home. One winter when it rained on top of the snow we could sled down five blocks to Jackson street.
Look at her accomplishments at Hellgate, she continued her leadership role throughout her life. Even when I went to Troy Montana with BPA to turn off all the power to the surrounding area, she was there in the café we stopped at before work. We chatted a bit remembering the days gone by, and what might lay ahead for us.
Bette (Elizabeth) Tomlinson
https://everloved.com/life-of/kimberly-finley/obituary/ame
Kimberly Head Finley
I never forgot Kim from our class, as she was filled with so much deeply-genuine joy and intelligence. I always wished that I had been able to know her better, but I admired her without being able to be in activities with her at school. Terry Cromwell and I talked about her in the last year before he died, as being a person whom we both admired and wished we had known better. I didn't know her married name, so I couldn't find where she was. One of her daughters wrote this obituary. In reading it, we absolutely see how Kim was (and is) as full of life and giving as we felt her to be. Kim was a truly great human being.
Elizabeth Tomlinson
Mac Swan
Elizabeth--Thank you for posting Kim's touching obituary. That's quite a story. She was a gentle soul.
Mac
Dave Rodda
While researching some old training materials, I came across a power outage I was involve in at Troy Montana, where we had to drop power for the entire community. I was searching for the town notices that were sent to the residents and newspaper, for a class I taught. There I found the Obituary for Kimberly Ann Head Finley.
Kimberly passed away November 29, 2023, in Missoula.
I was fortunate to have known Kimberly and her family throughout grade school at Prescott and our Hellgate High School years, then a few more before life went separate ways. Kimberly’s family lived one house away, and her grandparents lived in a home behind us.
I recall the many days we played in our yard, and the old chicken house converted into a club house for the neighborhood kids.
Her grandparents Dan And Irene had a home at the base of Mount Jumbo with a huge front yard where many baseball games were played. There were many neighborhood gathering that happen there from baseball to the neighborhood celebrations of the 4th of July.
I recall sitting on a swing set there with Kimberly and other friends waiting and watching as Sputnik pass over. In the fall Dan had the wood cutting from the mills dropped off. For several weeks the neighborhood kids built several forts and houses, only to knock them down. Eventually we all helped Dan in stacking the wood in a pile off to side of his house for winter heat.
As winter came the hill behind her home was the sledding hill, if you had a sled fast enough, you could go almost two blocks down the road passed her grandparents’ home. One winter when it rained on top of the snow we could sled down five blocks to Jackson street.
Look at her accomplishments at Hellgate, she continued her leadership role throughout her life. Even when I went to Troy Montana with BPA to turn off all the power to the surrounding area, she was there in the café we stopped at before work. We chatted a bit remembering the days gone by, and what might lay ahead for us.
Dave Rodda