David Lawrence Finlay

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, David Lawrence Finlay passed into eternity in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

David was born on February 18, 1940, in Salem, Oregon at Salem Memorial Hospital to his parents, Lawrence Eugene Finlay and Wilma Brown-Finlay. He spent his early years in Talbot, Oregon on the family farm. The farm was a hub of agricultural enterprises that included fur ranching of mink and fox. In addition to furs, they raised turkeys for sale to the US government and planted crops, including rye grass, corn, strawberries, and peppermint. Early on, David showed a keen interest in the outdoors and was fascinated by mechanical equipment. In high school, David earned money by making wooden nesting boxes for the mink to live in and helped out neighboring farmers with their mint crops.

The Finlay’s ran the largest mink and fox farm in the Pacific Northwest. The hunt for better breeding stock led his father, Lawrence, to Alaska to seek out six blue fox males where they had been trapped on their native Kodiak Island. This initial Alaska connection would eventually draw nearly the entire extended family back to Alaska in later years.

1963 found David working in Portland, he was helping refit a boat to take advantage of Alaska’s growing king crab industry. With the refit complete, he followed the boat north to Kodiak Island and began fishing king crab on a boat called the F/V Vita, working as a crewman until he could lease his own boat and hire his own crew. David was part of the initial National Guard emergency response following the 1964 Alaska Good Friday Earthquake (9.2M) and subsequent tidal wave which devastated several coastal communities across the state.

In 1968, David met his future wife Freda C. Wilder, who was working in Kodiak as a schoolteacher. On December 18, 1968, just ahead of an impending snowstorm, they were married at the Kodiak Bible Chapel. As they drove away the snow was already piling up higher than the hood of their 1965 Mustang. Days later, when the weather cleared, they finally made it off the island to celebrate their honeymoon. Their loving friendship and romance would last the rest of lives, celebrating 52 years together, until Freda’s passing in 2019.

Having had a close shave with a swinging 1,000 lb. crab pot, David decided to seek out less dangerous work to support their married life. David got a job as an apprentice plumber in Anchorage in 1969. Tiring of the cold they relocated to Kansas in 1972 where he continued in the plumbing trade. Following the North Slope oil boom, David and Freda moved back to Anchorage in 1976, where he worked with a local plumbing contractor and as a part-time longshoreman, until he became a journeyman plumber. David worked on Anchorage many landmarks including the Hickle House and the Pioneer House. He eventually went to work for what was, at that time, the Anchorage International Airport. He continued working at the airport until retirement.

David and Freda built their home in nearby Eagle River, Alaska. Buying the raw land, he had it excavated and first built out the foundation and the basement. He and Freda lived in the basement for at least two years until eventually completing the upper story, marking each milestone without taking on any debt.

David retired from what had now been renamed as Ted Stevens International Airport. He and Freda spent their early retirement years enjoying frequent travel across the US and visiting Jerusalem. They bought an RV and took frequent road trips, often stopping to fish with friends and family. One of David’s fishing trips landed him in the Anchorage Daily News. The article featured a grinning picture of him with a large King salmon (Chinook) he had caught in the Kenai River. As the story goes, after hooking the beast, he proceeded to fight it only to have it ultimately jump right into his boat!

David was a man of deep faith and gave his life to Christ when he was about 12 years old. David had a long-standing habit of reading the Bible cover-to-cover, every year. He was fascinated by the complexities of the Hebrew language and the deeper meaning it revealed. He and Freda attended the First Evangelical Free Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

He is survived by his older sister, Enid Betty Heinrichs, 93 and younger brother Dale Alan Finlay, 80. David touched many lives with his kindness, generosity, and joy for life and will be fondly remembered by his family and his friends.

His memorial service is to be held at his church on Oct. 17, 2025 at 10:00 with interment to follow. His church information is:

First Evangelical Free Church 820 N. 30th St. Colorado Springs, CO 80904

In lieu of flowers the family asks that any memorial donations or contributions be made to his church.