Person:Harvey Finison (3)

Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, Mass., Mon., June 15, 1987 Harvey J. FINISON dies, was leader of cutlery firm

 Harvey J. Finison, 70, of Northampton, president of the former Northampton Cutlery Co. for more than 20 years, died yesterday at The Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
 Mr. Finison came to the cutlery at 320 Riverside Dr. in 1963 and served as its president and general manager until the closing of the 115-year-old firm in April 1986.
 Throughout his years in Northampton, Mr. Finison maintained an active role in the community. He was a one time the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
 "He was very conscious of the community," said Jack Roetter of 55 Kellogg Ave., Amherst. "He had a certain originality in his approach to things. I knew him through a literary club. Harvey always had a very analytical mind, especially in regard to the economy. He had a sense of some of the dramatic changes that have taken place in our lives since World War II."
 Mr. Roetter also recalled that Mr. Finison was "a great collector of old books and he was superb cook. He had a very fine appreciation for food and wine."
 Richard S. Holden, former president of Northampton National Bank (now Multibank), said, "He was just a fine man, a thoughtful person. I first knew him when he took over Northampton Cutlery."
 Mr. Finison was born in Lansing, Mich., on Nov. 30, 1916, the son of the late Lorenz J. and Carrie M. (BENNETT) FINISON.
 He lived in Weston before moving to Northampton in 1962.
 He received his bachelor's degree in engineering from Michigan State University in 1939 and received his master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago in 1941.
 Before coming to Northampton. Mr. Finison worked with the General Electric Co. and joined the Armour Research Foundation in Chicago in 1949, where he became manager in electrical engineering research.
 He then became director of engineering and executive vice president for operations at Holtzer-Cabot in Boston.
 He also worked for Raytheon as general manager of their semiconductor division and later as director of business planning and development of the electric components and devices group.
 Mr. Finison was a member of the Methodist Church of Weston and a former president of the Northampton Rotary Club and the Northampton Chamber of Commerce. He also was a member of the Historical Society.
 He leaves a wife, the former Myrtle Van AKEN; two sons, Lorenz J. FINISON of Newton Highlands and Karl S. FINISON of Peaks Island, Maine; two daughters, Ann CROSTON of Danbury, Conn., and Sara SCHAEFFER of Cambridge; a brother, Joseph FINISON of Dimondale, Mich.; a sister, Wanda WARD of Detroit, Mich.; and three granddaughters.
 The funeral will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Pease Funeral Home in Northampton.
 Burial will be in the Bridge Street Cemetery.
 Calling hours at the funeral home are tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
 Memorial gifts may be made to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 650 W. 168 St., New York, N.Y. 10032-9982.

1. ↑ 1920 US Census.