Lois Finney

Lois R. Finney passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday August 18th, 2024, at Morningstar Assisted Living in Lone Tree, Colorado. Lois had been a long-time resident of Golden until moving 6 years ago to Lone Tree to be near her son Stephen and his family. 

Lois was born in 1933 in Wausau Wisconsin to Arnold and Johanna Roehl. She had a large extended family in Wisconsin as her own mother was the youngest of 11 children. She was fond of telling stories and showing pictures of her numerus uncles, aunts, and cousins whom she knew growing up during visits to the family homestead. Her father was a landscape architect renowned for designing and overseeing landscape projects for large estates throughout the southeast, and supervising CCC crews during the Great Depression. Lois was her high school valedictorian and graduated from the nursing program at Milwaukee Hospital in 1954. She completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin and taught pediatric nursing after graduating. She was phenomenally dedicated to education and children throughout her entire life.

She met her husband Joe while he was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, and they were married in January 1961. They moved to Golden, Colorado in 1962 where Joe became a professor of geology at Colorado School of Mines. There she raised three children and was exceptionally proud of her family and spared no effort to help anyone at any time. After Joe’s retirement, they spent 9 years shuttling to Las Cruces, New Mexico where Joe continued teaching. Lois dedicated much of her time to volunteering in the Faith Lutheran Church Health Ministry in Golden. She served as a parent volunteer for Jefferson County public schools and later worked as a teacher’s aide for special needs children at Bell Middle School in Golden. She was passionate about caring for animals of every kind – wild or domestic.

Lois was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph, after 57 years of marriage, and her sister Jean. She is survived by her children, Mark, Steve, and Suzi, daughter in-laws Joni and Cathy, son in-law Peter, grandchildren Tanner, Trevor, Jennifer, Kristin, and Ryan, and all their pets.