Gloria Jean Finley Obituary (1935

Gloria Jean Finley, 86 of Bloomington began the journey to her eternal home on June 9, 2022, in Bloomington. Gloria was born in Hoopeston, Illinois on July 2, 1935, to Carl and Doretta Jurgerson Reynolds. She married Charles R Finley on May 2, 1959, thus beginning a 63-year adventure together. They raised five children, Wade Finley of Bloomington, Rick (Angie) Finley of Wheaton, IL, Brian (Lisa) Finley of Nampa, ID, Jan (Scott) Swichtenberg of Bloomington and Greg (Tammy) Finley of Bloomington. Her nine grandchildren are Skye (Chad) Holmes, Ashton Swichtenberg, Dallas (Morgan) Finley, Erika Finley, Brent Finley, Bret Finley, Mikayla Finley, Charlie and Everly Finley. They also have four much-loved great-grandchildren. Gloria was preceded in death by her parents and one brother Terry Reynolds. After graduating from Hoopeston High School in 1953, Gloria worked for the Chronicle Herald newspaper. She and Chuck settled into an East Grove Street neighborhood in Bloomington and created their own "baby boom" by bearing five children within the first five years of marriage. Family and friends were Gloria's enjoyment and focus much of the time. She took pride in providing a clean, home sweet home atmosphere and encouraging her kids through her own example, to have pride in doing everything to the best of their ability while carrying a humility that resisted comparison to others. Her children were consistently reminded that dinnertime was promptly at 5:30 PM when mom would ring a dinner bell on the driveway to call them in from nearby basketball courts or neighbor's homes. Gloria loved having coffee, sharing laughter, and trading wisdom with her neighborhood friends. She was also diligent in keeping close friendships with a few grade school classmates for over 75 years. Gloria loved sending sweet, meaningful, cards to her family and friends for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. She also enjoyed many vacations to Estes Park, Colorado and Destin, Florida as well as Sunday drives in the country with Chuck and her family. Gloria's resilience in staying positive was evident in everything she did. Her spirit was tender and uplifting as she would always share a kind word or gesture to whomever she met along the way. Gloria radiated such a loving, kind, and caring heart not only as a longtime caregiver for her husband, but to all her family and friends. She will be dearly missed by all. Throughout her many stays at OSF Hospital this past year, mom still considered it a vacation to be embraced by such caring people with help at every turn. What a great attitude! Our family sends "Many Thanks!" to the incredible folks at OSF St. Joseph's and Heritage Health for their support and loving care. A private family graveside service will be held in Funks Grove Cemetery Saturday June 25, 2022. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Special Olympics of Illinois or to a charity of the donor's choice. Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington is handling arrangements.