Age 92, died on November 14, 2020. The daughter of Charles “Coley” and Catherine Cole, Baba grew up in Deephaven, graduated from The Northrop Collegiate School in Minneapolis and from Principia College, Elsah, Illinois, where she earned a B.A. After college she married her high school sweetheart, Harold “Shorty” Finch Jr., on September 6, 1950 and together they raised five children - Mark, Jim, Sarah, Martha and David. Baba lived nearly all her life on Lake Minnetonka where generations of families grew up swimming at the family beach on Robinsons Bay and attending the annual July 4th party.
Baba lived an active life with friends and family. During her life, she enjoyed many activities including golf, tennis, gardening, skiing, bridge, sailing, cooking, and needlepoint. She co-founded a small mustard sauce business with friends. She gamely participated in DIY log cabin building, RV trips and for her 85th birthday took a three-day camping and canoe trip with her family on the St. Croix River. She loved to travel, visiting well over 60 different countries and all 7 continents.
She supported numerous organizations and charities, especially Wilderness Inquiry, Courage Center, and was a founding member of the Minnesota Head Injury Association. Baba had many great friends throughout her life and continued to make friends to the very end. Everyone remembers meeting or knowing Baba, she made an instant first impression by her kindness and genuine interest in each person. Warm and generous, she was easy to talk to and her sense of humor was present every day. She had a knack for showing up when those around her needed a kind word of encouragement or a helping hand. She was a role model for her strength, resilience and grace during her own life’s challenges. She taught her children how to show up every day for those they love and to be grateful for the people in their lives for however long or short that may be. It was a blessing to be part of her life. Friends and family will all miss her.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold Finch; daughter, Martha Finch; parents, Charles and Catherine Cole; sisters, Julia Peterson, Carolyn Schwantes & Frances Owen. She is survived by her brother, Charles W. Cole, Jr. of Carbondale, CO.; by her children, Mark Finch, Jim Finch, Sarah Goullaud and David (Beth) Finch; and by her grandchildren, David, Charles and Elizabeth Goullaud and Haley, Harold and Emma Finch.
The Finch family would like to thank Trouvaille Memory Care Suites in Excelsior for their exceptional care of mom for the last few years and a special thanks to her wonderful long-term caregivers: Tootie, Sue and Gail. They took care of all of mom’s needs and made her feel truly loved and special.
Mom asked that there be no public memorial service. Memorials may be sent to: Wilderness Inquiry 808 14th Ave SE, Minneapolis MN 55414.