January 7, 2013

Stanley C. Fincher, age 72, of Suffolk, Va., passed away peacefully on Jan. 7, 2013, at Churchland House in Portsmouth, Va. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Born in Norfolk, he was the eldest of two children of Shaw and Edna Fincher. He graduated from Princess Anne High School in June of 1959. He was in the Naval Reserve and served his active duty on board the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.

Because he joined the USS Kitty Hawk at its commissioning, he received an honorary plank owner’s certificate. The first cruise was from Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to San Diego, Calif. Their route took them around the horn of South America. He underwent the equator-crossing ceremony and was initiated into “the solemn mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep” and went from being a Pollywog to a Trusty Shellback. Later they had the ceremony for rounding the horn of South America, in which King Neptune inducted him into the Brotherhood of Horned Shellbacks and granted him the privilege of spitting into the wind. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in April 1964.

He attended the Technical Institute of Old Dominion College (now Old Dominion University). After graduating in June 1965, he went to work at WTAR-TV (now WTKR-TV). After several years there, he went to work at CBN in their then new and now current location in Virginia Beach as an engineer. In December of 1987, Tim Robinson presented him with the prestigious President’s Award For Excellence. He was one of the few engineers to receive this award. He also received several Employee of the Month awards. He retired from CBN to a leisurely lifestyle. Near the end of his life he was afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease.

He is survived by his brother, Allen Fincher.

A memorial service with military honors will be held Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, at 11 a.m. in Baker-Foster Funeral Home, 5685 Lee Farm Lane, Suffolk, VA 23435 by the Rev. Phillip M. Privette Sr. Interment will be at a later date at Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery. Condolences may be registered at www.bakerfoster.com.