Alice Finch

Alice Charity Daniel Finch, 91, of Pikeville, died on June 8, 2023 surrounded by her loving family.

Funeral services will be held at Wilson Memorial Service, 2811 Fieldstream Dr. N, Wilson NC at 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 11. The service will be followed by visitation with the family. Graveside service will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, June 12, at Maplewood Cemetery in Wilson.

Mrs. Finch was preceded in death by her husband, Alton Lawrence Finch in October 2020; son, Edwin Lawrence Finch in April 2022; parents, Ossie Richard Daniel and Annie Aycock Daniel; sister, Cherry Feemster; brothers, Selby Daniel, O.R. Daniel, Jr., and Kline Daniel.

She is survived by her son, Warren Smith Finch II and wife, Fe Maria, of Pikeville; daughter, Teresa Finch Bolding of Raleigh; daughter-in-law, Nora Finch of Wilson; grandchildren, Paul and Jennifer Finch, Clay and Isabel Woodall, Ian and Teresa Perera, Edwin and Kelly Finch, John and Rebecca Thomas, Robert and Angel Bolding, Jessica Bolding, Leah Finch, and Leslie Finch; and eleven great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Finch was born on December 27, 1931 on the family farm in Fremont, NC. She attended school in Fremont and graduated with perfect attendance for all twelve years. Her love of education led her to receive a BA degree in elementary education from Atlantic Christian College. She paid for her own education by working in three part time jobs and graduated in three years. She taught for 33 years in Wayne and Wilson counties and briefly in Florida. She often said that she enjoyed teaching children because the Lord gave her a love for children.

She married Alton Finch on January 11, 1953 and lived in the home built by her father on the Finch farm near Stantonsburg. During her years on the farm, she gave birth to her children while teaching. In 1959, the family moved to Goldsboro and later to Pikeville where she resided for the rest of her life. She retired from teaching in 1991 and spent the next years active in her community by visiting the sick and the elderly and spending time with family and friends.

Mrs. Finch was an active member of Lower Black Creek Primitive Baptist Church and later Aycock Primitive Baptist Church. She often talked about her love for the Lord, her family, and people and showed her love in her willingness to help her family. Several times in her life, Alice took extended family members into her home and cared for them for long periods of time until they were able to care for themselves.

She enjoyed her regular church luncheons and could often be overheard on endearing phone calls with friends. Alice was known to take her grandchildren to Hardees in her blue Cadillac for milkshakes. She loved sitting on her porch with Alton and lingering with family there while taking in the garden flowers and awaiting the hummingbirds. In her old age, Alice became even more of a gentle spirit. When told she had a “sweet spirit”, she adamantly replied “I like to keep a sweet spirit. And you need to have it yourself.” Her legacy of love and generosity is one that her family hopes to emulate and she will be very much missed.

Flowers are welcome or memorials can be made to Pleasant Grove Free Will Baptist Church, 1100 Pikeville-Princeton Rd., Pikeville, NC 27863.

Arrangements by Wilson Memorial Service, 2811 Fieldstream Dr. N, Wilson, 252-237-7171; www.wilsonmemorialservice.com