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As reprinted from the family submitted obituary appearing in the LA Times, Sunday May 10, 2009
George Walter Finch, a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and longtime resident of Malibu, California, died on April 25, 2009, at the age of 70.
George was born in Orange, California on October 4, 1938 and raised in Fullerton, California and Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Washington University of St. Louis in 1960 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and again in 1962 with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He entered active duty in 1962 and served in the United States Air Force as a First Lieutenant until his honorable discharge in 1965.
In 1967 George graduated from Washington University School of Law. He practiced law in the Los Angeles area for nearly 40 years of which over 20 were with McDonnell Douglas Corporation, ultimately as Chief Counsel of Intellectual Property. In addition, he was a prolific and gifted inventor whose expertise spanned many fields of science and engineering.
An avid radio-controlled airplane enthusiast, George was an active member of the San Fernando Valley Radio Control Flyers for 38 years. He served on the Board for many years, including multiple terms as President and cherished his role as Contest Director. He particularly enjoyed instructing newcomers to the hobby, especially children, and donated hundreds of hours toward this purpose. He was part of a team that set two world records for distance flying.
He was a devoted grandfather and loyal attendee to his grandchildren's many sporting events. He will be missed tremendously and will always be remembered for his generous spirit, love of family, dry sense of humor, fountain of knowledge, and his love of flying.
George is survived by his wife of 44 years, Judith Elbring Finch, and his three children, George W. Finch, III of Thousand Oaks, Jonathan Finch of Oak Park, and Amy (Finch) Gerace of Fullerton. He is also survived by his brother, David Finch, of Denton, Texas and by his five grandchildren.
A private family service will be held. A memorial service will also be held at the Valley Flyers Field, on Sunday May 17, 2009. (See below for details)
Sunday May 17: We have obtained an all-day event permit for this Sunday, May 17th at the Apollo 11 Flying Field. In a touching tribute to his life, we will hold a ceremony at the field in the morning. The facility will be closed to sport flying from 8AM until the end of the ceremony. Field is expected to re-open to sport flying no later than 1 PM. Beginning around 9 or 10AM, we'll have bagels, coffee, and soft drinks.
In lieu of flowers, George would have appreciated donations in his name made to the Valley Flyers Foundation, Inc.
Click for Additional Photos of George Finch
Please Sign George Finch's Online Guest Book
2009 Membership Registration is Open now. << Click here to Join or Renew your Membership>> The San Fernando Valley Radio Control Flyers is Academy of Model Aeronautics Charter Club #152, and is currently enjoying it's 58th year.
The Valley Flyers are a group of model aviation enthusiasts from all over Southern California who enjoy building and flying radio control model aircraft.
The main emphasis' of the club are the promotion of model aviation, to maintain the Apollo XI field both physically and politically for model aviation, and to promote good fellowship and community relations.
The Apollo XI field is located in the Sepulveda Basin, a flood control area along the Los Angeles River in the Los Angeles community of Encino. The flying field is available every day from dawn to dusk except during sanctioned field events.
In addition to general sport flying, some members perform in various competitions such as; sport and scale aerobatics; scale and giant scale events. The club also has a large contingent of pylon racing enthusiasts, helicopter and jet modelers.
On the 4th Tuesday of each month the club holds a general meeting. At these meetings we have speakers on subjects related to the hobby, show and tell where our members bring out their pride and joy, and of course our club raffle. And in December we have our Annual Holiday and awards show.
The meeting location is the Encino Community Center, 4935 Balboa Blvd. Encino, CA. All meetings start at 7:30 P.M.
Benefits of joining the Valley Flyers include:
Upcoming Event Recent Visitors of ValleyFlyers web site
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