FINN, Daniel J., 100, of Benton, NH, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family, on February 2, 2025. Daniel (Dan) was born in Boston on July 3, 1924, to Daniel Joseph and Ellen (Nyberg) Finn. He was the youngest of four children and was raised in the Roxbury section of Boston. After graduating from English High, Dan enlisted in the U.S. Army Infantry and served for the duration of World War II under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. He earned the rank of Lt. Colonel and was honorably discharged from the Army reserves in 1969. He was awarded several Army Commendation Medals.

After returning from his wartime service, Dan graduated from Boston University, College of Business Administration, and went on to Boston University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctoris. Upon graduating from law school, Dan entered his life of government service and worked for the Herter state government, first as Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, and later as Director of Civil Defense and Emergency Planning. Dan's career continued to advance, and he held several prestigious positions in the City of Boston, including Building Commissioner and Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority.

Under Mayor Kevin White, he developed a popular program that decentralized City government by bringing small City Halls into neighborhoods. This allowed residents to get services locally. Ten centers responded to over 400,000 requests for service each year.

In the mid-1950s he met his life partner, Mary Ross. Dan and Mary were married in 1957 at St. Ignatius Church, Boston College, by Father Robert Drinan. The Finns had five children. In 1958 they purchased the Finn family home in Benton, NH, and for decades they regularly drove to NH so that the family could spend time in nature and the beauty of the countryside.

In 1971, Dan moved from government service to education, and he became Vice President of Boston University. In 1984, he retired and devoted his life to his interests. Dan had a lifelong love of reading and an insatiable curiosity. He loved to travel, and he traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and Africa, crossing Russia by train and the Masai Mara in a hot-air balloon. He and his wife shared interests in art, travel, antiquing, family, and their home in Benton. Dan was a larger-than-life man with a loud, infectious laugh, a generous heart, and a kind spirit, and he was a friend to many.

Among his other accomplishments, he was chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year (1957) by the Boston Junior Chamber of Commerce, he was instrumental in the formation of the Big Brothers Association in Boston, he was a long-term trustee of the Benjamin Franklin Institute in Boston, he was instructor in government at Simmons College, and he was the youngest ever Trustee of Boston University.

Dan was predeceased by his wife Mary, his siblings John, Marie, and Gladys, and his grandson Ricky. He is survived by his daughter Deborah of Westborough, MA; son Daniel of Benton, NH; son Jeffery (Kit) of West Bloomfield, MI; son Kevin (Catherine) of Walnut Creek, CA; and daughter Kathleen (José) of Scottsdale, AZ. Dan is also survived by his nephew Paul Spiers of Albuquerque, NM, his niece Tracy Smith of Cape Cod, MA, 5 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Pine Street, Woodsville, NH, at 1 PM on May 22, 2025, with interment immediately afterward in Benton Mountain View Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, his family ask that donations in his memory be sent to Doctors Without Borders, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, or an animal shelter.