Bob was born on January 19, 1930 in Woburn, Massachusetts, to the late Walter R. and Rose F. (Lopilato) Finethy. He graduated from Woburn High School in 1948 and was a member of the varsity football team.

Bob was a lifelong entrepreneur who bought and sold antiques and furniture through auctions, retail and wholesale from Maine to Florida and South Carolina to California. He learned the business from his father. With savings from working on a chicken farm he bought his first truck and loaded it with furniture at 18. Bob hauled antiques for long distances, always with dogs as traveling companions, for the better part of 20 years.

He was always active and blended his love for work with his love of people. Bob especially enjoyed weddings and loved to dance. He was meticulous in caring for the lawns of his homes. And he was known for his dry wit and sense of humor.

He married Jean Scalley of Woburn in May of 1949 and they owned The Riverview in Tewksbury, in the mid 1950s. Together they had six children and lived in both Tewksbury and Billerica, Massachusetts.

His marriage to Jean ended in 1968 and he traveled south, establishing Bob’s Antiques in Ware Shoals, South Carolina. He ran the store until 1988 and it became a gathering place for people from all walks of life, since Bob loved to talk with people as he built his business. They call it networking now, but people enjoyed sitting on his porch and talking with him. During that time, he married his second wife, Bennie Ridgeway. After the end of that marriage, he returned to New England and finished out his career selling furniture at Bob’s Solid Oak in Littleton, MA from 1992-95 and Bob’s Two in Jaffrey, New Hampshire from 1995 to 2005. He also owned a store in Wilton, New Hampshire from 2005-07.

His second wife, Bennie, described him as “tough as nails” on the outside and “soft as a pillow” on the inside. A good-hearted fellow who looked out for his neighbors, Bob helped people without telling anyone, quietly leaving someone a bag of groceries or an extra $10. His third wife, Jackie, described a time that a couple from Fort Devens fell in love with a table and chairs at his Littleton store. After learning from their conversation that they were experiencing hard times, Bob delivered the set the next day and never accepted payment.

Bob moved to Rindge, New Hampshire in 1991. He married Jackie (Powers) Finethy in 1996. He experienced a stroke on his 79th birthday in 2009.

Bob leaves behind an aunt, Violet (Lopilato) Dupuis of Concord, New Hampshire; his second wife, Bennie (nee Ridgeway) Dietrichsen of Newberry, South Carolina and his third wife Jackie (nee Powers) Finethy of Rindge. He was predeceased by his first wife, Jean Marie (nee Scalley) Finethy of Woburn.

He leaves two brothers William Francis Finethy of Columbia, South Carolina and Buddy Finethy of Decatur, Georgia and a sister, Nancy Foley of Sun City, California.

He leaves six children: Camille E. Regal of Atlanta, Georgia; Donna (Finethy) Georges of Kensington, New Hampshire; Linda (Finethy) Alves of Rye, New Hampshire; Elaine (Finethy) McCarthy of Marstons Mills, Massachusetts; Shaun P. Finethy and Shane Finethy, both of Vero Beach, Florida. He was predeceased by his son and namesake Robert W. Finethy, Jr. also of Vero Beach, Florida in 2018.

He also leaves 19 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

Family and friends are warmly invited to a memorial service on Saturday, June 1st at 1pm at Cournoyer Funeral Home, 33 River Street, Jaffrey, New Hampshire. All are invited to bring their remembrances of Bob to share at the service.

Announcement courtesy of Parker-White-Pruitt Funeral Homes.