DAILY EAGLE - Monday, March 14, 1966

Robert Finn, 23, and Grandmother Die on Weekend

SPRINGFIELD, VT. - Sorrow came twice over the weekend to the Finn and Wheeler families of Summer Street., and the community grieved with them.

On Saturday night, Mr. and Mrs. Howard R. Finn received a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Athens, through the State Dept., that Robert (Bobby) 23, the oldest of their three children had been fatally injured in an accident in Greece.  The only detail mentioned was that he was a passenger on a motor-cycle at the time.

Early Sunday morning Mrs. Finn's mother, Mrs. Mary Richmond Wheeler, well known life-long resident of Srpingfield, died at the Cutler Convalescent home after several months of failing health.  She was 90, her husband, the late Frederick W. Wheeler was a prominent business leader.

The body of Robert Finn is to be flown home by air transport.  The body of his grandmother is at the Davis Memorial Chapel.  There will be no calling hours.

A memorial service for Mrs. Wheeler and Robert Finn will take place Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the First Congregational Church, The Rev. David J. Heintzelman, pastor, will officiate.  Entombments will be in Summer Hill cemetery.

The family has requested that those who wish may make contributions to the Mary R. Wheeler Memorial Fund of the First Congregational Church, in care of Leaonard E. Dunlap of 80 Union St.. Springfield.

In memory of Robert Finn, friends who wish may make contributuions to the Endowment Fund of Springfield Hospital.

ROBERT W. FINN

Robert Wheeler Finn was born in Springfield on Labor Day, Sept 7, 1942.  He attended Springfield schools, graduating from high school with the class of 1960.  He played the clarinet in the SHS band, and played with the first section in state music festivals.  He was a member of the Springfield High School golf team which won the Vermont Jaycee tournament.  The four players were accompanied by his father to Waterloo, IA to comptete in the national Jaycee competition.  In 1964, Robert graduated from Brown University in Providence, RI.  In college he majored in math, was a member of the golf and ski teams and was pool champion for two years.  During summer vacations he worked for his father, member of the firm of Finn & Stone, in the insurance business.  He enjoyed a degree of success, and was club golf champion in 1960 and 1962 at the Crown Point Country Club.

After graduation from college in 1964, Robert Finn enlisted in the 475th Ordinance Co., U.S. Army Reserve, at Chester.   He completed six months active training at Fort Gordon, GA.  He spent some time traveling in Mexico, and as an amateur photographer took many pictures of the country and its people.  Last year he went to Santiago, Chile, and taught physics and chemistry at an English speaking school.  After a vacation in Rio de Janiero, he left several weeks ago by boat for Greece and Portugal with the intent of continuing his study of languages.  He spoke French, Spanish and the Krio dialect of South Africa.  He was pursuing study of Protuguese, Greek and Italian at the time of the accident.

Besides his parents, he leaves a sister, Carolyn, his brother Merrick, and his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Robert R. Finn of Springfield.