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Obituary
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After years of living with excruciating pain, 62-year-old Larry Don Fink of the Vian area passed away painlessly and in peace on Monday, May 28 at Muskogee Regional Medical Center.
The Memorial Day passing of the beloved son, father, brother and uncle was a blessing for him, freeing his undying spirit from a body that had been racked in unimaginable agony since a horrific collision with a semi tractor-trailer truck five years ago on Interstate 40 one mile east of Roland.
Larry’s life hung in the balance for weeks following the crash. His injuries were so severe and so pervasive that few expected him to live.
But Larry wasn’t ready to go.
The heart that lived inside his gargantuan body refused to surrender and with the aid of a pace maker continued to beat strongly until his breath finally gave out, succumbing to years of a laborious struggle to over-come the debilitating injuries that affected almost every part of his body – but didn’t touch his soul nor his compassion for the many that he loved.
Though his own struggles were mighty he continued to make every effort to care for his mother, Arbie Jewell Fink, which had been his life’s mission since the passing of his 78-year-old father, Eugene Fink, on Feb. 13, 2001.
Both Larry and Mrs. Fink resided in a series of nursing homes, refusing to be separated until Larry’s health began to rapidly decline and he was taken to the Muskogee hospital, where he passed with family members at his side.
Larry was born on Oct. 10, 1949, at Sequoyah Memorial Hospital, among the first to be born at the new facility after it opened on Aug. 24 of that year.
The hospital was built through the efforts of the Board of County Commissioners. Among the three commissioners on the board who worked tirelessly to build the hospital was Larry’s late grandfather, Marlin Guy “Punch” Fink, District 2 commissioner from 1946 to 1956.
Until 1953, Larry lived with his family in the Blackgum Community where his father helped build the dam that created Lake Tenkiller.
Then the family moved to Richmond, Calif., and then to Rodeo, Calif., where his father worked at the Union Oil Refinery.
In 1963, after Larry graduated from the 8th grade in Port Costa, Calif., near Rodeo, the Fink family returned to Blackgum.
Larry graduated from Vian High School in 1967 and soon after married the former Sherry Myers.
Larry attended Connors State College in Warner, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, quitting college a few credits short of graduation.
In 1972 he became an apprentice iron worker, advancing to journeyman in 1975. Although he eventually ended his iron working career he continued his membership in the union and in November of this year he would have been with the organization 40 years.
For several years Larry owned a private security company in Tulsa and then became a long-haul driver for CFI (now Con-Way Trucking), working out of Joplin, Mo. He often took family members with him on his countless journeys around the country.
In 1995 Larry joined the United States Postal Service, eventually driving trucks for the post office in Tulsa while living in the Blackgum Community, where he helped take care of his elderly parents.
Declining health forced him to retire from the Postal Service in 2007, shortly before his ill-fated accident.
Nothing meant more to Larry than his family, especially his parents, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
Larry was born with a mischievous sense of humor that endeared him to family and friends alike.
In addition to his wit he will be remembered for an artistic nature,, his ability to draw and design.
He also will be remembered for his intelligence – when he applied for the post office he bought a book on memory and taught himself how to remember hundreds of names by reading them once. He took that ability to the post office and memorized most of the postal routes in the city and thus became invaluable as a substitute delivery person.
When Larry wasn’t working he was helping his parents during their retirement years, becoming an indispensable part of their lives, or he was doting on his grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Larry is survived by his mother, Arbie, 88, of Warner; one son, Antony, 44, and daughter-in-law, Natalie and their children Makenna, Owen and Kyler, all of Cody, Wy.
Also, one sister, Barbara, 69, of Roland, and her daughters, Kim, of Roland, Kelly Henshaw and her husband Jud of Sallisaw; and Karleen Cox and her husband, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Andrew, of Camp Lejeume, N.C.
Also, one brother, Jerry, 67, of Las Vegas, Nv., and his daughter Jerri Lee Fink and her husband Andrew Lopez of Las Vegas; and son Jason and wife Liberty of Seattle, Wa., and son Paul, of Talladega, Al.
He also is survived by numerous nieces and nephews. | |
