Services have been conducted for Patricia Mae Fink, 76, who died March 21 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Mrs. Fink was born in Santa Cruz to Jasper and Alice Crow. After her parents were separated, she moved to Medford, Ore., with her mother and elder sister and graduated from Medford High School in 1951. She attended Southern Oregon College and University of Oregon before moving in 1953 to San Francisco, where she worked as a legal secretary until she married Ray Fink in 1956.
The couple, who would have four children, lived for a time in Oregon and Southern California, where Mrs. Fink went to work on the Pacific Missile Range and Point Mugu for Bendix Radio in Camarillo. When that operation folded, she was one of two women who set up the public defender’s office in Ventura County. The Finks then moved north in 1969 and settled in Boulder Creek, where they lived 30 years before moving to Watsonville in 1998.
Mrs. Fink worked briefly for the county board of supervisors and then for the Superior Court before retiring in 1986. She remained self-employed, editing court and deposition transcripts.
Relatives said her greatest joy was being involved in her family’s activities.
Mrs. Fink transcribed stories of holocaust survivors for the Holocaust Oral History Project in San Francisco. She served on the County Fire Commission from its inception until 2003, when she was appointed to the Civil Service Commission. She also became active as a board member for the Retired Public Employees Association, the Santa Cruz Salvation Army Corps and Jacob’s Heart.
Mrs. Fink was an avid reader and a crossword puzzle enthusiast, was involved in the local and San Francisco symphonies, and had a passion for traveling. She and her husband, and often her sister, traveled extensively in Europe, Canada, Alaska, Africa, New Zealand and Costa Rica.
Mrs. Fink is survived by her husband of 54 years, Ray Fink of Watsonville; children, Kevin Fink of Brookdale, Cory Starrs, and her husband, Bill, of Santa Cruz, Collin Fink, and his wife, Renee, of Colorado and Kirsten Dahl, and her husband, Greg, of Livermore; sister, Betty Peabody; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nephews.
Services were Sunday, March 27 at Pacific Gardens Chapel. Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel of Santa Cruz handled arrangements, and a guest book is available online at www.pacificgardenschapel.com.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mrs. Fink’s name may be sent to the Santa Cruz Salvation Army Corps, 721 Laurel St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060; or to Jacob’s Heart, 2007 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville, CA 95076.
