Ferdinand "Fred" Gerhard Finke

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ferdinand Gerhard Finke (known to all as Fred) on April 15, 2025.

Family, Friends, and Fun. Three words that embody Fred’s life and spirit. His charismatic and loving personality was a magnet to those around him, attracting people with this wonderful spirit and aura. Although a true extrovert in personality, he still placed great importance and value in close friends and family. He had love not only for his close friends and family, but also his country, being a loyal Military Veteran that proudly served his country in Vietnam.

Fred was born on February 7,1941 in Queens, New York to Ferdinand Heinrich and Ida Finke. He spent most of his young adulthood in Long Island, New York before attending Military College in Chester, PA.

After graduating with a degree in Finance & Accounting from the Military College in Chester, PA, Fred enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and was sent to Vietnam where he served as a 1st Lieutenant. In his Vietnam Tour of Duty, Fred completed many special assignments and received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal. During his tour, he met, fell in love, and married his loving wife, Leah Finke, and started a family. After the war, he came home with his young family and began working for Philco Ford, and then Bell Helicopter. His job with Bell Helicopter included extensive international assignments and travel to many countries including Tehran, Iran. His last assignment relocated him, and their family back to the United States where they finally resided in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Following his departure from Bell Helicopter, Fred ventured into entrepreneurship with his wife, opening a small retail clothing business. Together, they operated this business for over 25 years until retirement.

With Fred’s retirement, he remained active in the Veteran Foreign Wars, supporting his fellow veterans through various functions while also enjoying his love for any sport related function and activity, specifically baseball (Go Texas Rangers!), tennis, golf, football (Go Dallas Cowboys!), and bowling.

To his close friends, he will always be remembered for the fun meet and greets with good food, drink, and conversations. To his sister, he will always be remembered as a selfless and protective brother. To his parents, he will always be remembered as a loving son. To his grandchildren, he will always be remembered for the DFW visits that included parks, lots of animated movie times, museums, swimming, and neighborhood walks that always ended up at the curb at the end of the street with a stuffed animal or two, watching the cars go by. To his children, he will always be remembered as a great, caring father. To his wife, he will always be remembered as a loving and caring husband and provider. To all, he will eternally be remembered as an intelligent, kind, caring, forgiving, easy going, and wonderful spirit that will remain in all of our hearts.

Although physically gone, but eternally in our hearts as he ventures into his new afterlife.

He is survived by his wife, Leah Finke, his sister, Joanne Ahlers, his son, James Finke, and his daughters, Debra Finke, Lisa Finke, and Jennifer Finke, his nieces, Melisa Ahlers and Kimberly Ahlers, and as well as his three grandchildren, Vanessa Lincoln, Chase Solberg, and Riley Solberg.

The family has organized a Memorial Service to honor Fred's life and Military Service, which will be held at Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst on Friday, June 27, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. 

He will be interred with full military honors at 1:15 p.m., Friday, June 27, 2025 at the Dallas Forth Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas.