After the war, D.C. entered Princeton University. Though technically a member of the class of 1947, because the war interrupted his studies, he finished in 1949. He then entered The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in pursuit of his lifelong passion to become a surgeon. He graduated from medical school in 1953. He received his surgical training at the Union Memorial Hospital and started to practice in 1958. “The juxtaposition of Dad’s young life from a machine gunner in the bitter cold battling Germans for days to becoming a talented surgeon whose compassion was evident seems mind-boggling,” says Edee. While doing his residency at Union Memorial Hospital, he met and married Eleanor Jean Brown, a nurse. They began their family and raised four daughters, Edee, Mary, Winnie and Peggy. “Dad always said he wanted to be surrounded by women but this is not quite what he expected. He would laugh but we knew how much he loved us,” says Edee. Edee says that her father finally got his boys with his four grandsons, and his interest in them was readily apparent. With Peter, he shared his love of golf, with Murray his knowledge of sports, with Andrew his love of lacrosse and with Jack, his love of Gilman. With all of them, he shared their love of video games — how many 70-something grandfathers owned and mastered Nintendo Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong and Tetris? In his professional life, D.C. became a partner in Finney, Trimble Associates, where he worked alongside Dr. I. Ridgeway Trimble ’18, his uncle George G. Finney ’17 and his first cousin George G. Finney, Jr. ’44. He practiced general surgery and was an outstanding member of the medical community for many years. Most of his surgeries were performed at Union Memorial Hospital and GBMC. He seemed to gravitate naturally toward sensitive health issues, such as breast cancer, because of his empathy and calmness. He retired in 1990. “My Dad approached life with great zeal. He would try to learn everyone’s name
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(he was even doing this with all the nurses and aides at GBMC during his final illness), and with a twinkle in his eye Dad would say something amusing and kind,” says Edee. Always, D.C. remained close to Gilman. During the 1960s, at the request of Reddy Finney, then head football coach (1960– 1967), he became the Gilman football team doctor. The student-athletes trusted him, and D.C., as a former football player, understood the game and the types of injuries that participants might sustain and how they could best be treated. “D.C. also had the knowledge and the judgment to calm down and settle the Head Coach when it was needed!” says Reddy Finney. D. C. also served as president of the Alumni Association (1962-1965) and as a member of the Board of Trustees (1962– 1965). His paternal grandfather was also a longtime trustee: Dr. John Miller Turpin Finney, the renowned Johns Hopkins surgeon who was the first president of the American College of Surgeons, for whom the Gilman Middle School building is named. In later years, D.C. greatly enjoyed watching his nephews Eben D. Finney ’76, who considered him a surrogate father after his own father died, and Tom Finney ’81, and great-nephews Pete ’07 and Will ’08 and myriad other Finney relatives on the Gilman varsity field of play. His last visit to Roland Avenue was this past June, when he was able to see his grandson Jack graduate from Gilman as a member of the Class of 2012. Daniel Clarke Wharton Finney ’43 died November 5, 2012, at the age of 88. D.C.’s wife Eleanor Jean died in 2011. He is survived by his four daughters, Eleanor (Edee) Finney Waller, Edwina (Winnie) Wharton Smith Finney, Mary Finney Tannenberger and Margaret (Peggy) Wharton Finney; also a sister Margaret Finney McPherson; and four grandsons, including one Gilman graduate, John Finney Waller ’12. Many thanks to Reddy Finney, Bill Rienhoff ’43 and Edee Waller, who each contributed to this memorial.
gilman bulletin
3/12/13 10:51 AM