A Life Well Lived

TEXARKANA, Tex. - Frieda Mae Fink, 75, of Texarkana, Texas, died at her home Thursday, July 5, 2007.

Mrs. Fink was born on November 13, 1931 in Stow, Ohio. Although she grew up in the midst of the depression, Frieda fondly remembered her childhood. Mrs. Fink said, "I never saw my family as being needy."

When Mrs. Fink was 17, her mother accompanied her to a dance. There she met the man who would become her husband, Don R. Fink. "He asked my mother to dance first," Mrs. Fink said, "It was his way of getting girls to dance with him. He seemed like a gentleman."

Although Mrs. Fink's mother declined the invitation, she suggested that her daughter dance with him. The couple eloped a week later in Kentucky.

In 1950, Mrs. Fink gave birth to the first of the couple's eight children, Michael.

A year later, she gave birth to twins, Patrick and Dianna. After Patrick was born, it quickly became apparent that a second child was on the way. "Diana was born three minutes later," Mrs. Fink said. "Don had only brought things for one baby. He had to go find extra clothes."

With five young children, the Finks eventually moved the family from Ohio to Needles, Cal. where they lived for a time with her husband's uncle, George Champ. Their new home was little more than a shed behind a body shop where he worked.

Within months, however, the family relocated to La Puente, Cal. where they purchased a home and their next two children were born. Mrs. Fink said they frequently took family picnics and played baseball in the park every Saturday.

In addition to her children, Mrs. Fink also had a love for animals. She remembered that all of her children had their own favorite pets over the years, including pigeons, dogs, rabbits and even two ponies.

In 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Fink moved the family to Texarkana, Ark. "We wanted to get away from the smog and we liked the area," Mrs. Fink said. Shortly after the move, their eighth child, Rachael, was born.

Later, Mr. and Mrs. Fink would become the managers of Texarkana's historic Grim Hotel.

Because Mrs. Fink had eloped at an early age, she had dropped out of high school during the eleventh grade. "I always wanted to go back [to school], but I had always been so busy."

In 1990, at the age of 58, she fulfilled her dream and not only received her GED, but continued her education by enrolling in the nursing program at Texarkana Community College. She worked as a nurse at Wadley Hospital and then at Medical Arts Hospital until she could no longer handle her duties due to a decline in health.

Mrs. Fink was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year later. As her disease progressively worsened, she looked to her family for support. In addition to the constant support of her husband and children, she was also cared for by her nephew, Chris Christall, his wife Andrea and their daughter Candace, of Texarkana, Ark.

Regardless, Mrs. Fink was optimistic about life. "I think I'm pretty fortunate," Mrs. Fink said. "You could die tomorrow or you could live till you're a hundred. But the main reason I don't think about death is because we have the hope of everlasting life." This belief was a result of her 47 years as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Bible's teaching of a resurrection to eternal life in a paradise earth.

In 1991 she had reflected on her life during an interview with her grandson, Jathan Fink. Mrs. Fink then said, "There were probably a lot of times when I made mistakes, but what you try to do is do better and not live in the past."

Mrs. Fink was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick Frank Ullrich and Anna Edna Kelly Ullrich; one son, Dennis Fink; one daughter, Dianna Pillow; and one granddaughter, Dianna Ray Pillow.

Survivors include her husband, Don R. Fink of Texarkana, Tex.; three sons, Michael Fink of Mountain Home, Idaho, Patrick Fink of Texarkana, and David Fink of Ethridge, Tenn., three daughters, Deborah Fisher of Jacksonville, Ark., Pamela Austin of Texarkana, and Rachael Jones of Fort Smith, Ark., five brothers and sisters, Fred Ullrich and Samuel Ullrich of Barberton, Ohio, Myra Kelly Ullrich of Orlando, Florida, and Catherine Whitecraft and Eleanor Conklin of Akron, Ohio; 12 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren; and a number of other relatives.

Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Nash, Texas with Stevon Gamble officiating.

Relatives will be at the home of Pamela and James Austin, 9101 N. Kings Hwy., Texarkana, Tex., 75503.