Friend, teacher, student, attorney, wife, sister, aunt, and grandmother Cynthia Cole (Cindy) Finley died in Dallas on June 18, 2024, ending an eleven-year journey with dementia. Her passing was as peaceful and gentle as Cindy herself. She was 77.

Cindy was born and reared in Dallas by her parents, Marilynn and Dr. Charles Max Cole. She enjoyed an idyllic childhood filled with friends, family, and learning. Cindy attended Preston Hollow Elementary School and was a member of the Hillcrest High School class of 1965, editing the yearbook her senior year. She entered SMU in the fall of 1965 and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Phi Beta Kappa. Like her father before her, Cindy was editor of SMU’s yearbook, Rotunda. She graduated in 1969 with a degree in English and continued her education at the University of North Carolina, earning her master’s degree in English.

Following a brief teaching period in New England, she returned to Dallas and became the 8th-grade English teacher at the Hockaday School for the next three years. During this time, Cindy met her husband, Jim Finley, on a blind date orchestrated by her first cousin. Cindy and Jim were married on New Year’s Eve 1977. She entered SMU Law School in 1977 and earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1980, having served on the SMU Law Review. She joined the Dallas firm of Malouf, Lynch, and Jackson and practiced real estate law for the next twelve years.

During this time, her two nephews, Grant and Jason, were born to sister, Karen and her husband, Bob; Cindy simply fell in love with those babies. She and Jim traveled to San Antonio quite often to visit. Jim’s daughter, Pam, married in 1992 and in 1995 she and husband, John, brought their first child, J.T., into the world. Cindy fell in love all over again as she discovered the joy of being a grandmother. Grammy, as she became known to our entire family, centered her life around J.T. and, sixteen months later, his sister, Sarah, taking them on adventures and nurturing them. A third grandchild to love, Ryan, arrived in 2006. Cindy called this time of bonding with her nephews and grandchildren the best period of her life.

In addition to grandparenting, Cindy and Jim enjoyed being with family, traveling with family and friends, especially to Santa Fe, and singing in the Sanctuary Choir of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church. With Cindy’s support, encouragement, and involvement, Jim launched JFA Consulting in 1988. A few years later, Cindy began a new career providing private tutoring to children of all ages, using her innate abilities to understand her students and craft her teaching to their needs. She was also involved in volunteer work in her church and various writing projects for the Dallas Council of Churches.

Cindy was preceded in death by her parents and her nephew, Jason Cole Magnon. She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Jim; his daughters, Katie Ware and husband, Eddie, of Frisco, and Pam Henry and husband, John, of Dallas; grandchildren John Henry IV (J.T.) of Atlanta, Sarah Henry of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Ryan Henry of Dallas; her sister, Dr. Karen Magnon, and husband, Dr. Robert Magnon of San Antonio; her nephew, Dr. Grant Cole Magnon of Phoenix; and her caregiver of the last eight years, Margarita Gonzalez of Dallas, a gift from God to our family.

A memorial service celebrating Cindy’s life will be held Friday, July 26, 2024, at 11am CDT at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, 9800 Preston Rd., Dallas, TX 75230. The service will be live streamed. Ten minutes prior to the service - go to phpc.org, and select "Watch Live" in the upper right corner. In lieu of flowers, memorial offerings may be made to the Music Ministry of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, the MyCareConnect Foundation, or a charity of your choice.

Jim Anderton (Deceased 2011)

Anita Austin (Deceased 1992)

John Barfield (Deceased 2004)

Ronnie Baxter (Deceased 1963)

Dennis Birenbaum (Birenbaum) (Deceased 2022)

Mike Blackwell (Deceased 1989)

Becky Bowden (McCabe) (Deceased 2010)

Bill Bragg (Deceased 2019)

Peggy Brake (Deceased 1985)

John Burford (Deceased 2005)

Beverly Bush (Morris) (Deceased 2015)

Tommy Bush (Deceased 1987)

Barbara Butler (Bishop) (Deceased 2012)

John Cahill (Deceased 1979)

Larry Carney (Deceased Year Unknown)

Alan Cates (Deceased 2024)

Floyd "Bud" Caylor (Deceased 2011)

Kenneth Chenault (Deceased 2007)

Cindy Cole (Finley) (Deceased 2024)

Linda Conner (Hoover) (Deceased 2008)

Bill Cook (Deceased 1994)

Marsha Daniel (Adams) (Deceased 2011)

Bob Derryberry (Deceased 1993)

Vicky Ely (Tweedy) (Deceased 2010)

Jeffrey Enkowitz Martin (Deceased 2009)

David "Cotton" Fields (Deceased 2018)

Suzanne Flick (Freeman) (Deceased 2011)

Phyllis Fraser (Girard) (Deceased 2014)

Donna Gilleland (Stafford) (Deceased 2010)

Steve Golman (Deceased 2020)

Lenelle Goodman (Deceased 1975)

Marilyn Guise (Hull) (Deceased 2010)

Anita Harkey (Cooksey) (Deceased 2011)

Michael Rex Harris (Deceased 1990)

Steve Hayes (Deceased 1964)

David Headly (Deceased 2013)

Robert Hirsh (Deceased 2022)

Peggy Holbert (Wortham) (Deceased 2017)

Robert Horton (Deceased 2018)

Jon Huggins (Deceased 1965)

Nikki Hutt (Bennett) (Deceased 2016)

Jimmie Johnston (Deceased 2021)

Bobby Randall Jones (Deceased 2008)

Janet Jones (Ihfe) (Deceased 2022)

Paul Jones (Deceased 2017)

Julie Ann Jurica (Downing) (Deceased 1975)

Alan Kamen (Deceased 2015)

Sam Kasmir (Deceased 2007)

Jean Kelley (Menefee) (Deceased 2019)

Mark Kepler (Deceased Year Unknown)

Donna Kibbe (Smith) (Deceased 2000)

Mimi Klausner (Goldman) (Deceased 2017)

Kathleen Klein (Deceased 2004)

Nancy Kliewer (Dunlap) (Deceased 2019)

Bob Koch (Deceased 1967)

Linda Krause (Blotcky) (Deceased 1987)

Llyod "Linky" Kronick (Deceased 1977)

Leslie Lane (Mackson) (Deceased 2018)

Dennis Leeds (Deceased 2012)

Janis Levine (Music) (Deceased 1994)

Frank Hunter Lillard (Deceased 2001)

Dennis Lonergan (Deceased 2010)

Nancy Luft (Vermeer) (Deceased 2020)

James Lynch (Deceased 2011)

John Randolph Mahaffey (Deceased 2014)

Nancy Martindale (Cantwell) (Deceased 2019)

Jay Mason (Deceased 2022)

Lewis McClary (Deceased Year Unknown)

Joe McCloud (Deceased 1992)

Marsha McCrory (Kashata) (Deceased 2022)

Joe McNeill (Deceased 2015)

John Menefee (Deceased 2011)

Carol Miller (Vaughan) (Deceased 2019)

David Robert Miller (Deceased 1988)

Walter "Wally" August Miller (Deceased 1997)

Charlotte Mittelbach (Slovack) (Deceased 2006)

Jack Neal (Deceased 2022)

Jennifer Elizabeth Nelms (Lindman) (Deceased 2005)

Steve Nichols (Deceased 2012)

Kenneth Noteware (Deceased 2019)

Don Nugent (Deceased 2015)

Tommy Oliver (Deceased 2009)

Elaine Orman (Deceased 2021)

Thomas Owens (Deceased Year Unknown)

Sharon Parsons (Borgh) (Deceased 2016)

Bruce Poole (Deceased 1963)

Beth Annette "Punkin" Porterfield (Deceased 2013)

Diane Pounds (Lloyd) (Deceased 2021)

Jerry Pritchett (Deceased 1970)

Richard Quillen (Deceased 2011)

Tommy Ragan (Deceased 2009)

Mark Rains (Deceased 1963)

Rebecca Alwilda Reber (Washington) (Deceased 2004)

Patrick Michael Reed (Deceased 2012)

Pam Reynolds (Rushing) (Deceased Year Unknown)

Betty Rolfe (McCown) (Deceased 2012)

Casey Sammons (Casey Bergen) (Deceased 2021)

Jaclyn Schackman (Deceased 2003)

Patricia Schiller (Deceased 2013)

Kathleen Schlotterbeck (Deceased 1968)

Carol Scott (Carruthers) (Deceased 2011)

John Scurry (Deceased 2009)

David Dale Stewart (Deceased 1992)

Bill Teplow (Deceased 2012)

Mike Thomas (Deceased 2000)

Ira Tobolowsky (Deceased 2016)

Elaine Uninsky (Deceased 2006)

Charles VanLopik (Deceased 1983)

Paula Waldman (Scholl) (Deceased 1971)

Charles Wallis (Deceased 2021)

John Wayman (Deceased 2023)

Irene Weisman (Seidel) (Deceased 2009)

Sherry Wigley (Crow) (Deceased 1995)

Charles Williams (Deceased 2010)

Bela Wircberg (Blum) (Deceased 1990)

Stan Wright (Deceased 2022)

Larry Zelazny (Deceased 1988)

If you are aware of a Classmate who should be added to this page please let us know.