Posted by Jan McGirk on January 3, 2011:

Col. Joe Wesley Finley, U.S. Army (Ret.), 86, passed away Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. Services were held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, at Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery with full military honors. The Rev. Debbie Ousterhout officiated. Col. Finley was a native of Hazlehurst Georgia and made his home in Milledgeville since 1978. He was a retired colonel with the U.S. Army. His wife, Virginia, kept a list of their moves in the front of her favorite cookbook and counted 23 addresses in his 29-year military career. He was in the 1946 class of West Point and graduated from the Army War College. He served three tours in Korea, one in Vietnam and also served in Japan, Turkey and Germany. He was a former executive vice-president of Georgia Military College. He worked with Craig-Massee Realty for many years and was an avid genealogist. Col. Finley was known for the enthusiasm and problem-solving skills he brought to whatever he did, whether it was serving in the Army, tracking down the lost members of his graduating class from South Georgia College or acquiring land for the future use of Georgia Military College. He was a loving husband and father and was known for his fondness of jokes, puns and compiling family stories. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Lucille Barber Finley, his parents, Arley Dewitt Finley and Madelyn Payne Finley, a brother, Bobby Bucknell Finley, and two sisters, Betty Ruth Finley and Grace Finley Schwarz, who was a US Marine officer. Survivors include a son; James David Finley of St. Cloud, Fla.; two daughters, Janet Finley Davis (Paul) of Milledgeville and Rebecca Finley Striggow (Brian) of Athens; two brothers, Arley Dewitt Finley Jr. (Sally) of Georgetown, Texas, and Arthur Jones Finley (Lori) of Braselton; three sisters, Madelyn F. Jackson of Suwanee, Mary F. Dixon (Jim) of Bryan, Texas, and Martha Dean Finley of Sun City Center, Fla.; and a grandson, Rod Byrd of Colbert. http://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=776859&fh_id=10365&s_id=05B1EFF2-9DCE-C3D8-7AB71FAB6145CA75 He will be much missed

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