Community, business leader Tom Finan dead at 81

Apr. 6—CUMBERLAND — Thomas B. Finan Jr., a business leader and longtime community advocate, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Finan was senior manager and part owner of the Cumberland Times-News along with Jack McMullen from 1969 to 1986 and then became involved in the community, serving on numerous corporate boards for over 30 years.

"Tom was good man and his presence will be missed," said Jan Alderton, former Times-News managing editor. "He was a great asset for the paper and cared about the community deeply."

"Tom was one of the nicest people I have ever known," said Al Feldstein, who is retired from the Maryland Department of Planning. "He was totally genuine. Every time I saw him there was always a flashback of him sitting next to my dad at the counter of the Star Restaurant having breakfast. I'll always have that memory and never forget it."

Finan is survived by his wife of 44 years, Mary Kay Kelly Finan, and their son, Patrick H. Finan and wife Erica of Charlottesville, Virginia, and daughter Kelly Finan Richards and husband Jeffrey of Baltimore; granddaughters, Acadia Finan and Emmylou Finan of Charlottesville, Va.; and brother, Judge W. Timothy Finan.

Born June 5, 1942, Finan was the son of Isabel North Finan and Judge Thomas B. Finan, who was attorney general for Maryland from 1962 to 1966.

Finan Jr. grew up in Cumberland and graduated from LaSalle High School in 1960. He earned a business degree from Mount St. Mary's University in 1964 and received a master's degrees from Frostburg State College in 1973 and Johns Hopkins University in 1979.

He served in the Peace Corps in Bolivia from 1967 to 1969. In 1972, he attended the Democratic National Convention as an elected delegate for Hubert Humphrey and in 1976 as a delegate for Jimmy Carter.

After the Peace Corps, Finan spent 18 years at the Cumberland Times-News, where he was vice president, business manager and an owner of the newspaper before the paper was sold in 1986 to Thomson Newspaper Corp.

"Tom was helpful in getting me hired," said Tom Snyder, former business manager at the Times-News. "I was hired in 1979 and largely due to Tom's support. He was a very intelligent man and took a real interest in the paper and I was fortunate enough to have him as a mentor."

From 1988 to 1994, Finan was chairman of the board of Allegany College of Maryland. He also served on the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland from 1995 to 2007.

"Tom created a scholarship with the ACM Foundation for prospective students, which will continue in perpetuity through his generosity," said David Jones, ACM vice president. "He was a kind, gentle individual who had an impact on our area that will continue to be felt for years."

Finan served on the board of the former Memorial Hospital and was its chairman in 1996 when Memorial and Sacred Heart hospitals formed an affiliation to create the Western Maryland Health System. He co-chaired the 1994-1996 effort to create the new health system and worked closely with leaders of both hospitals to bring the merger to fruition.

The Allegany County Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Individual of the Year award in 1997 for his work in creating the health system, which later became UPMC Western Maryland.

Finan was on the board of the Liberty Trust Company and its successor banks. He was also a member of the Allegany County Library System Board for many years.

He received the Greater Good Award from The Greater Cumberland Committee in 2017.

Friends will be received at Scarpelli Funeral Home, P.A., 108 Virginia Ave., Cumberland, on April 12 from 4 to 8 p.m.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on April 13 at 11 a.m. at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 201 N. Centre St., Cumberland.

Inurnment will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Cumberland.

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.