Retired United States Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, William Davis Finley.
On November 20th, 2020, the heavenly doors opened and the precious soul of William Davis Finley was summoned to be with the Lord. His service on this side of eternity has come to an end. He was born May 10th, 1940 in Memphis Shelby County, Tennessee.
William attended Hamilton High School in Memphis prior to enlisting in the United States Air Force on May 14th, 1957. Later, he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Management and Human Resources from Park College in Parkville, Missouri. He went on to hold a Master’s Degree in Public Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California. He also attended and received at Master’s Degree in Management from the University of the Philippines Diliman in Mania, Republic of the Philippines.
His active duty military career in the Air Force spanned 25 years and took him on assignments around the world which included countries such as England, Germany, France, Morocco, Holland, Republic of the Philippines, and Republic of Vietnam.
He retired January 31st, 1982 as a Senior Master Sergeant after serving 25 years in the United States Air Force. After retiring, William was employed and returned to the Air Force as a career civilian employee. In his civilian capacity, he served 22 years before retiring in the grade of GS-11. In sum, William faithfully served his country for a total of 47 years as both dedicated military and civilian member of the United States Air Force.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Jacqueline Odomes.
William leaves to cherish his memory a loving wife Estrella (Star) Finley; his daughters, Sharon Finley, Angela Finley; his sons, William Finley, II (Ella), Edward Finley (Leila), Andrew Finley (Sarah), Steven Finley (Samantha); sisters, Ann Echels (Charles), Paula Glenn; seven granddaughters, 5 grandsons; eleven great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and many other family members and special friends.
Family will receive friends from 2:30pm to 3:30pm on Thursday, December 10th, at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 3700 N. Germantown Rd, Bartlett, TN. A funeral mass will follow at 3:30pm. Burial will be on Friday, December 11th at West Tennessee Veteran’s Cemetery, 4000 Forest Hill Irene Road, Memphis, TN.
