Remembering John Finck
John Phillip Finck, Building Service Technician for the Walsh Hall area, passed away on Dec. 29, 2021 at Altru Hospital, supported by his loving wife, Andrea. He was 48.
John was born Sept. 25, 1973, in Grand Forks to James and Rosemary (Selseth) Finck. He was raised and educated in Grand Forks, and upon the completion of his education at Grand Forks Central in 1992, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. John was stationed in Germany from 1992-1995 before transferring to the Army National Guard of North Dakota where he served from 1995-2012. During this time he went on a tour in Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom III from 2004-2005. John retired from the National Guard in 2012 and was later employed by Grand Forks Public Schools.
He began working at UND in September 2015, in the Walsh Hall area as a Building Services Technician. John had a positive attitude. He would take any task and complete without complaint, and was always willing to help out his co-workers. His coworkers looked at him as more of a friend than a co-worker. He will be deeply missed.
John married his soulmate, Andrea Johnson, on July 9, 2011, in Grand Forks, where they made a home and raised their son Donovan and their dog Squirt. They enjoyed camping with family, game nights with friends, and spending time with loved ones. John was also an avid fan of UND football and basketball, and he always enjoyed a competitive season of fantasy football. (We’re sure he has already organized a fantasy league of his own up there.)
John has a large family, all of whom love him greatly. He will be missed dearly by his wife, Andrea; son, Donovan; parents, James “Jim” and Rosemary “Rose” Finck; sisters, Tammy (John) Rothenberger, and Kimberly (Kevin) Gamble; sisters-in-law, Amber (Jamie) McCann and Angela (Tyler) York; brother-in-law, Austin (Maggie) Brockling, and his best friend, Nathan “Nate” Blair. He also will be missed by many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and countless more whose hearts were blessed to have had John in their lives.
He will be greeted in Heaven by his grandparents; John and Clara (Bushaw) Finck and Arthur and Phylis (Lee-Carlson) Selseth and many more loved ones.
Memorial services were held Monday, Jan. 3.
