100-year-old Studebaker guy Frank Finch went out in style and left a great legacy

[PackardV8]

Today, we gathered to mark the passing of our friend Frank Finch. Frank lived a good, interesting and long life; working on such diverse and interesting machinery as the Lockheed P38 Lightning, flathead Ford V8 midget racers, farm machinery and Studebakers. He was a long-time SDC member.

He was the Service Manager at Packer Motors Studebaker in Glendale, CA and later at Madren Brothers Studebaker in Spokane. He is survived by a son, Gary, a noted pre-war Studebaker collector, and a daughter, Nina, who is restoring Frank's '56 President two-door sedan.

Frank rode out in fine style, in a 1939 Packard Henny hearse.



It was a privilege to know Frank

jack vines

[Lou Van Anne]

They can haul me away in the back of my '62 Champ...that way I won't have to rent a hearse! (and just as classy)

[56Golden]

They can haul me away in the back of my '62 Champ...that way I won't have to rent a hearse! (and just as classy)

Food-for-thought!

And if you do the driving you won’t have to pay or inconvenience anyone else.

[StudeRich]

May Frank rest in Peace, definitely the WAY to go out.

[Lou Van Anne]

...I hadn't thought of that! Great Idea!

Food-for-thought!

And if you do the driving you won’t have to pay or inconvenience anyone else.

[Don Kelstrom]

I had the great pleasure of knowing Gary's father and sitting down at the dinner table with him many times. He was somebody you would be proud to have as a friend and it shows in the type of person Gary is. As most people who live to that age, he had accomplished a lot and made a lot of friends. I could go on and on, but I'll just end it by saying he was a great man and I will miss him.

[RadioRoy]

Food-for-thought!

And if you do the driving you won’t have to pay or inconvenience anyone else.

But if he does the driving - after he dies - then other drivers will be inconvenienced.

But other drivers will probably not notice, since they will be texting and looking at their phones.

[57pack]

Sorry to hear of Frank's passing, another Studebaker guy gone. His final ride must've looked similar to this Packard hearse.
Another automotive fellow's funeral, Henry Ford's.

[JoeHall]

Sounds like Frank was a lucky guy, in living to be 100 years old. It also sounds like he enriched a lot of others' lives, in those who knew him. Some of my best old friends have now gone on, but none of them reached 100. Frank definitely went out in style. May he Rest In Peace.
Joe H