Jerry Elliott Finger passed away on the 3rd of February 2016, after a life well lived. He died surrounded by, and comforted by friends and family. His death was caused by complications from emphysema. Jerry lived a full life that included many achievements and experiences, but none were greater than the relationships he enjoyed with friends, family, associates and business partners, students and the many lives he touched and made better by his enthusiasm and generous heart.
He was born on the 11th of October 1932, in Houston, Texas to Hyman and Bessie Finger. He was later joined by his two brothers, Marvy and Ronny, to whom he was close to his entire life. Growing up, he attended Sutton Elementary School and later attended military school at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas for part of his middle school years. He only ran away once from Allen Academy, and it was because he had the flu and came home to get proper care from his mother. He attended high school at San Jacinto High School and graduated in 1949. Only seventeen upon graduation from high school, he attended Williston Academy in Easthampton, MA in 1950 for an additional year of study, and during that time, spent a summer with his Uncle Tobias Gordon in Wharton, Texas, where he developed a life-long passion for reading.