Frank Dewayne Finchum

Frank Dewayne Finchum, 84, of Orange, Texas, passed away on November 10, 2016, in Port Arthur, Texas.

A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, November 14, 2016, at Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Port Arthur, Texas. Officiating will be Reverend John Warren, of First United Methodist Church in Orange.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, at First United Methodist Church in Orange with a visitation prior to the service beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas on May 18, 1932, he was the son of Frank Edward Finchum and Jessie L. (Hunt) Finchum. This was during the depression and times were hard. Frank attended grade school (1 through 6 grades) at DeQueen Elementary School on 7th street. At that time his family lived on Galveston Avenue in Port Arthur. He had one sister, JoAnn that was two years older and much smarter than he. She was a hard act to follow, making straight “A’s” all of the way through school. The most memorable events Frank had in grade school were staying in school and being expelled twice for conduct problems. Much to the surprise of his father he made it to seventh grade at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School (7th through 9th). In junior high, he found a new way to display his aggressive energy by playing football. Weighing 205 pounds in the eighth grade gave him an advantage in the rough and tumble world of sports. It did wonders for his studies too once he found out that you had to attend school and make good grades to play. Nothing too great happened in junior high other than football and discovering girls. Frank went to Thomas Jefferson High School in 1948 and again he was in the footsteps of his older straight “A” sister. The teachers found out right away that there was two Finchum kids, the straight “A” one, and Frank. They decided to change his name to Dewayne and hope for the best. In high school he played football making “All District” two years and the Fort Worth Star Telegram “All State” his senior year. Senior year he served as student body president.

In January of 1951, he packed his bags and headed for the University of Texas with a four and one half year athletic scholarship in hand. With a lot of luck and some hard work he managed to complete four and a half years of college, get a BBA degree, play four years of college football, graduate Distinguished Military Student, play in the Cotton Bowl of 1953, meet a lot of great people, including his future wife, Nancy Jo Benfield, and get a job with The Western Company in Levelland, Texas.

After graduation in May of 1955, he packed his 1953 Chevrolet Coupe and headed for Levelland. He thought, boy, did they have the right name for that town. It was so flat you could see for miles. He worked for the Western Company as a treating engineer for a few months before a guy he worked with named Scotty talked him into going partners in a new service station opening up. It was Olenbush Oil, a small refining operation. After trying the service station for a few months he found out that it, and Scotty, wasn’t for him. In the meantime he married Nancy and moved her to Levelland. They married on September 17, 1955, and by November they were packing up their things and heading home to Port Arthur looking for work. They temporarily moved in with Nancy’s parents and then his parents while looking for a job. By November 29th, he had a supervisor’s job at Orange Pulp and Paper, later to be called Equitable Bag Company where he worked for 38 years progressing from floor supervisor in the bag division to production manager. In May of 1957, they again packed their belongings and headed to Fort Lee, Virginia, and his tour of active duty in the Army. At Fort Lee he went through officer’s training school. Tab was born in 1956, so his family grew to three. Tab was 9 months old and they were still experimenting with how to raise him 1300 miles from their families. Nancy was a real trooper and did a great job. She loved driving on post and being saluted. After officer’s school he was assigned to special services and played football for the Fort Lee Travelers until his tour was over in November.

At the end of his active duty, it was time to pack up again and head home. This was their easiest move, as the Army did it for them by packing and shipping everything. They drove back to Port Arthur and started looking for a house to live in. they ended up buying a house and garage apartment on 7th St. in Port Arthur. He went back to work at Equitable Bas as a plant Safety Director. They later added Personnel Dept. to his job. Next it was the Paper Mill Production Manager and then on to Planning and Production Manager which he held until his retirement along with safety and human resources.

In 1960, he built a house in Greenway Park, Orange, Texas. It was at 1814 Decker and was a three bedroom, two bath, kitchen-den combo, living room, utility room, and one car garage. Dub and Nan were born there. It was a great neighborhood for children to grow up in. There were two to three children in each house, all about the same age and they had a ball playing together. Later they moved across the street to a four bedroom house. They added a den and enlarged the master bedroom. When he retired he built their current home which they moved into in May of 1994.

While employed at Equitable Bag he had the opportunity to serve on the Orange Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors on two separate terms, the Administrative Board of the First Methodist Church and after retirement the Board of Trustees, The United Fund Board, the First Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors in Orange, established the Habitat for Humanity Charity Golf Tournament and ran it for several years, put together several BBQ fund raisers for Habitat, helped start the Banking on Habitat program with the local banks, the Board of Directors at Sunset Grove Country Club, helped with several church fundraisers, coached Little League football for eight years and served on their board, established Frankansons Deli in Orange and Beaumont, established the Boardinghouse Restaurant in Orange, served seven years in the Unites States Army Reserve attaining the rank of Captain during his tour of duty, served on the Master Plan Committee for the City of Orange, and was Orange County Republican Party Chairman from 1968 to 1972. He served on term on the LC-M school board as well as the Lamar State College-Orange Senior Citizens Scholarship Committee.

As you can see, God was very good to him. He blessed him with two great parents, athletic ability that opened many doors and provided education for him, with a wonderful wife that stood by his side and guided him, three wonderful children that have provided him grandchildren that brought joy to his life, the ability to provide enough money to be comfortable but not enough that he forgot where he came from, and an opportunity to serve his church and community. He was very thankful for his life. Frank was a wonderful man who will be greatly missed.

Frank is preceded in death by his parents; and his sister, JoAnn Mingle.

Those left to cherish his memory include his loving wife of 61 years, Nancy Jo (Benefield) Finchum; children, Tab D. Finchum and wife Misty, of Lake Charles, LA, Frank D. Finchum, Jr. and wife Tracy, of Lafayette, LA, and Nan Finchum Risley and husband Mark, of Dallas; grandchildren, Taylor Finchum Alexander and husband William, Ben Finchum, Annie Finchum, and Mark Risley, IV; and his wonderful caregivers, Chaquetta, Jackie, and Sherlanda.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to First United Methodist Church at 502 N. 6th St., Orange, TX 77630.