Luke Francis Finn

FRANK FINNMay 16, 1927 – September 26, 2009Luke Francis Finn of Gold Hill and Longmont, Colorado, and Key West, Florida, died on Saturday, September 26, surrounded by his family in the tranquil comfortand care of Boulder County Hospice at Balfour in Louisville, Colorado, after a brief illness. He was 82.Frank was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on May 16, 1927, the son of William Finn and Josephine Cotter Finn; he was the first of six children. As a teenager, he worked as caddymaster and lifeguard before entering New YorkUniversity, where he majored in Physical Education.In 1950 he met Barbara MacFetridge in Greenwich at a Christmas party held by American Cyanamid, where she worked. They were married on January 26, 1952,in Syracuse, New York. In 1955, Frank and Barbara moved with their two-year-olddaughter, Deborah, to Boulder, where sons Christopher and Matthew wereborn. Frank was cofounder of the Boulder YMCA, and worked there until 1957, when the family moved to Salina, Kansas. Two years later, after the birth of their third son, Brian, they returned to the Boulder area permanently. In the fall of 1959, Frank and his family moved to the Trojan Ranch west ofGold Hill. The following spring they moved into a home attached to theRed Store on Main Street in Gold Hill. It was while living there and sellinggroceries that Frank and Barbara bought the 3-story hotel in town, and its adjacentdining hall, from the Bluebird organization. The Finns settled in the hotel, known as the Bluebird Lodge, and in June, 1962, they welcomed their first customersto the Gold Hill Inn, a gourmet dinner restaurant in the spacious dining hall.The Gold Hill Inn is a seasonal business, closed during the winter months, andfor years Frank and Barbara would gather their four kids, with school assignments, into a school bus and drive to their winter destination in Playa Los Cocos, Mexico. Back at the Gold Hill Inn for Summer and Fall, Barbara created the elaborate,imaginative six-course dinners for which the restaurant has become known tovisitors from around the world, and Frank became the beloved irreverant friendof countless men and women, young and old, from his station behind a bar wherebeverage offerings were top-shelf rather than common, and where his Irish witand charm filled the air between the massive fireplaces.At various times, Frank Finn served as mayor of Gold Hill; he was Gold Hill Fire Chief and helped establish the Sunshine Fire Department; he and Barbara were instrumental in the Gold Hill elementary school becoming part of Boulder Valley Schools; theywere active in establishing historic zoning for Gold Hill and its eventual inclusionin the National Register of Historic Places. Frank also found time to help establish Little League baseball in Boulder. Perhaps nothing besides their family was more important to Frank and Barbara thanoffering alternatives to troubled youth. They opened their home to boys in trouble around Boulder County, and in 1970 they established Uncle Charlie's, a youth camp west of Gold Hill for juvenile delinquents. It was their growing business that funded these endeavors, and the Gold Hill Inn sponsored many fundraising events over the years for the People's Clinic, the Community Free School of Boulder, YMCA, and otherprojects. Many special events benefitted local, regional, and national Democraticcandidacies.By the early 1980s Frank and Barbara had a second home in Key West, Florida, andwere able to travel, leaving the operation of the Gold Hill Inn to their children,primarily Chris and Brian. The Gold Hill Inn has continued to flourish unchangedsince its opening in 1962. The American poet Eugene Field spent time at the hotelin Gold Hill, and the first poem in his A Little Book of Western Verse (1889) recounts his visit there. ""Casey's Table d'Hote""conveys Field's deep affection for the proprietor of the inn and restaurant – it's a poem that Frank memorized and loved to recite, and many who knew Frank characterized him with Casey.Oh, them days on Red Hoss Mountain, when the skies wuz fair 'nd blue,when the money flowed like likker, 'nd the folks wuz brave 'nd true!When the nights wuz crisp 'nd balmy, 'nd the camp wuz all astir,With the joints all throwed wide open 'nd no sheriff to demur!+ + + +And you, O cherished brother, a-sleepin' 'way out West,With Red Hoss Mountain huggin' you close to its lovin' breast,--Oh, do you dream in your last sleep of how we used to do,Of how we worked our little claims together, me 'nd you?Why, when I saw you last a smile wuz restin' on your face,Like you wuz glad to sleep forever in that lonely place;And so you wuz, 'nd I'd be, too, if I was sleepin' so.But, bein' how a brother's love ain't for the world to know,Whenever I've this heartache 'nd this chokin' in my throat,I lay it all to thinkin' of Casey's tabble dote,Barbara Finn died in June, 2006. Frank is survived by twin sisters Mary and Margaret;brothers William Jr,, Patrick, and Daniel; four children and spouses Deborah and GaryMillennor, Christopher and Leslie Finn, Matthew Finn and Nana Will, Brian and MarilynFinn; four grandchildren Shivaun, Amy, Katie, Luke; cousin Jerry Starratt.Cremation has been entrusted to Howe Mortuary and Crematory, Longmont, Colorado.Friends are invited to a traditional Irish wake for Frank on Sunday, October 18th, 2:00 p.m.at the Gold Hill Inn. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Frank's nameto Attention Homes, 3080 Broadway, Boulder, 80304