Francis Finlon, 90, of Vero Beach, passed away on Sept. 1, 2014, only one day before his 90th birthday.
Known as Frank to his friends and family, he was born Sept. 2, 1924 in Carbondale, Penn.
His parents were Hugh Finlon and the former Rose Tammany. Hugh and Rose also had three other sons: Joseph, Paul, and Robert, and two daughters Mary and Agnes.
His report cards from elementary school in Carbondale are peppered with remarks like “inattentive,” “wastes time,” and “whispers too much.” However, he found his stride in education and by the time he graduated from the Carbondale High School in 1942, he was class valedictorian.
He began his college education as an engineer immediately after high school with classes at the University of Scranton and the Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia. By 1944, he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tenn. and Los Alamos, N.M .where he was part of the team that developed the atomic bomb that ended WWII.
He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946. After serving in the military, Finlon continued his education with BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Penn State in 1947 and 1948, respectively. He also did graduate work in applied mathematics at Brown University from 1949-50.
While attending school, he married Mary Martha Henzi in November of 1947. They had three children, Dick Finlon, Dave Finlon, and Debra Finlon. His extended family included two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.
He spent virtually his entire career at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University from 1947 until 1983. He started as a Research Assistant and was Professor of Engineering Research and Associate Director of ARL at the time of his retirement.
His work focused on basic and applied research of underwater sensors and weapons systems for the US Navy. After leaving Penn State, he worked for two years in State College, Penn. for Vitro Corporation where he was a Senior Resident Representative.
By 1985, he and Mary Martha decided the time was right to retire to Florida. They lived in a condo just off the beach in Ft. Pierce until 2000. At that time, they moved to the ACTS Retirement Life Community in Vero Beach.
In 2006, his wife of 59 years, Mary Martha Finlon, died. He subsequently met another resident of the ACTS community, Josephine (Jay) Herter and they were married in November 2009. Jay continues to live in the ACTS community.
Finlon had many interests including golf at the Centre Hills Country Club, card games, and all things Penn State. He and Mary Martha also helped to found the Centre Squares square dancing group. They spent many enjoyable hours practicing this art and participated in the annual competition at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, winning numerous ribbons.
He was devoted to his family, his work, and the Catholic Church. The family will hold a memorial service in the near future. Strunk Funeral Home of Vero Beach is serving the family. A guest book is available online at www.strunkfuneralhome.com.
