Clifton Delancey Finch, Jr.

Clifton Delancey Finch, Jr., peacefully passed away on September 23, 2024, in Denver, CO, with family at his side. Preceded in death by his only son, James Patrick, and lovingly remembered by his daughters; Stephanie McManus (Michael), Deborah Finch, Catherine McNeal (Christopher Brown), and daughter-in-law, Lisa Finch, his grandchildren; Tyra & Garrett Finch, Maya & Rowan McManus, Cristian & Ashley McNeal, his siblings; Jeff Finch, Candy Finch, Bob Messersmith, Joanne Prothero, and extended family. He is also remembered by his wonderful caretakers and devoted friends.

Clif was born and raised in Connecticut, and graduated from Norwalk High School in 1961. He then joined the US Air Force (1962 -1966), and was stationed at Ft. Lowry AFB, Denver, where he taught fellow airmen how to maintain the weapons systems on the F-105 Thunderchief aircraft.

While in Denver, he married Mary Ann Blackey (Finch) on May 9, 1964. A few years later, he moved his growing family back to CT to attend college at Norwalk State Tech College (Class of 1969), and on to the University of New Haven, (Class of 1971).  Graduating first in his class in Electrical Engineering, he received numerous accolades and awards, most notably, the Wallace Silversmith Award.

In 1966, Clif landed employment with Hewlett-Packard in Colorado Springs as a technical writer, and worked for the company for 26 years.  A two-year detour in 1971-1973 took his family back to Norwalk, CT, where he worked as a Production Engineer with Norden Division United Aircraft.  During his career at HP, he advanced to several positions, including Sales & Tech Support, and the new HP European Support Manager, which involved moving his family overseas to Boblingen, Germany from late 1979-81. There, he was responsible for coordinating and presenting training seminars for HP techs in much of Europe and Kuwait. 

A life-long learner and teacher, Clif moved to Boulder, CO, and acquired an MS degree at CU in Telecommunications Science in 1997. He was a member of MENSA, and loved all things technical, philosophical, scientific, and never did anything half-way.  

He was an avid reader, photographer, Broncos fan, outdoorsman, skier, runner, swimmer, scuba diver, traveler and ballroom dancer. In his later years, he enjoyed riding his bike, coffee visits with his neighbors and his favorite treat…ice cream.

Our sincerest gratitude for all who cared for Clif; his home health caretakers, 

The Bristol Hospice team and the nurses and staff at St. Anthony Hospital, Lakewood, CO.

Funeral services were held at Ft. Logan National Cemetery, Denver, CO, on October 4, 2024, 9:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Park Foundation, give.nationalparks.org, or The Dementia Society of America in Clif’s name.