Elizabeth D. "Bette" Finegan
December 7, 1922 — May 17, 2019
Send a Sympathy Card
Past Services
Celebration of Life
Elizabeth D. "Bette" Finegan
Born to parents Walter Shaw Dickson and Helen Rextrow Dickson on December 7, 1922, with her twin sister Marjorie (Mardi), in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Bette graduated from Winchester High School (MA) and received a BA from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, and an MA from the University of Minnesota. She married the late John Christopher Finegan (Gloucester, MA) in May 1943.Mr. Finegan was then a First Lieutenant in the US Marines and Bette immediately joined the US Navy.She was stationed in the Bureau of Personnel in Washington, DC, as a USNR (W)-Ensign until the end of the war.
Civilian life brought the family from Minnesota to Detroit, Michigan, where they spent 40 years and raised two children, Mardi Dickson Finegan and John Christopher Finegan, Jr.During those years Bette was active in politics, serving twice as the Assistant Campaign Manager for the late Governor George Romney and twice for the late Governor William Milliken.She was also Chairman of the Michigan Women's Commission and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1960. Bette also held several positions at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan from 1972-1988 as Director of Volunteer Services, Director of the Department of Education and the Coordinator of Medical Education.
In 1988 Bette and John retired to Rancho Bernardo, CA where she enjoyed playing tennis and golf, bridge, reading and traveling.She was an active and dedicated volunteer for The Elizabeth Hospice, The Assistance League of Inland North County and the local chapter of the P.E.O. organization.
Bette was predeceased by her parents, her three sisters (Marjorie Dickson Shattuck, Mary Jane Bullens and Natalie Hall), her husband John and her son, Chris.She is survived by her daughter Mardi (of Plymouth, MA), and her daughter-in-law Donna C. Finegan, two grand-daughters, Reina Finegan and Jessie Finegan, and three great-grandsons Jayden, Ryder and Braxton, all of Phoenix, Arizona.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 16275 Pomerado Rd, Poway, CA on Friday, June 7, 2019, at 1:00 PM.Burial will take place at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on June 24, 2019.
Contributions in Bette's memory may be made to The Elizabeth Hospice, 500 La Terraza Blvd., Ste. 130, Escondido, CA 92025 or The Assistance League of Inland North County, PO Box 300793, Escondido, CA 92030.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Elizabeth D. "Bette" Finegan, please visit our flower store.
Past Services
Celebration of Life
Friday, June 7, 2019
Starts at 1:00 pm
St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church
Photo Gallery
Guestbook
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
