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Jack Fincher Jack (Howard Kelly) Fincher, 72, died April 10, 2003, in Los Angeles after a yearlong illness. Mr. Fincher was born in Bonham, Texas on Dec. 6, 1930, and was raised in Tulsa, Okla. He was the only child of Grace Mae Hutcheson Fincher and Murlin Jackson Fincher. Mr. Fincher attended Central High School in Tulsa, and the University of Tulsa from 1949-1950, where he also worked as a reporter for the Tulsa World. He then enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he served three of his four-year tour of duty as a public information specialist at the NATO Air Headquarters in Fontainebleau, France. During this duty, Fincher worked as a writer on Shape Information Teams and traveled throughout Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. After having earned the National Defense Service and Good Conduct Medals, he was honorably discharged in 1955, when he returned to the University of Tulsa to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. In 1956, Mr. Fincher was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for European History to the University of Lyons, France, where he studied until 1957. After returning to the United States in 1957, he became a reporter for Life Magazine, becoming its San Francisco Bureau Chief in 1964. He left Life Magazine in 1970 to pursue his career as a free-lance journalist. As such, for the next 21 years, he wrote for, among other publications, Smithsonian, Human Behavior, Psychology Today, and Readers' Digest. He wrote two non-fiction books, Human Intelligence (1973) and Sinister People, The Looking-Glass World of the Left-Hander (1977). In 1991, he left magazine journalism to pursue screenwriting, authoring scripts until his death. He had been a resident of Ashland since 1976. Mr. Fincher is survived by his wife of 42 years, Claire Boettcher Fincher; two sons, David Fincher and Ronald Blair; two daughters, Erica Fincher Colmer and Emily Fincher Tauber; daughter-in-law Cean Chaffin and son-in-law James Tauber; three grandchildren, Phelix Fincher, Blaine Colmer and Heather Colmer; and three step-grandchildren, Lucy Tauber, Dixie Tauber and Zazu Tauber. Memorial services will be held June 7, 2003. Contributions in his honor may be made to: Community Health Center, 99 Central St., Ashland, OR 97520. Claire F. Ronsse The funeral Mass for Claire F. Ronsse will be at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of the Mountain Catholic Church in Ashland. The Rev. Joseph Betschardt will officiate. Interment will be at Scenic Hills Memorial Park, Ashland. Mrs. Ronsse, 85, of Ashland, died Thursday (May 1, 2003) at Providence Medford Medical Center. She was born Jan. 8, 1918, in LaBaie, Quebec, Canada, to Regina and Alfred Pepin. She was raised in LaBaie and studied at the Catholic convent in Nicolet, Quebec. She married Basil Buford and moved to Portland in 1943. He preceded her in death. On June 3, 1971, in Ashland, she married Charles E. Ronsse, who died in 1986. Mrs. Ronsse worked with Les Petites Soeurs Des Pauvres in Montreal. She is survived by her niece, Eveline Valois, Quebec City, Canada. Arrangements: Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland. Edythe Mae Eaton A private family service will be held for Edythe Mae Eaton, 79, of Medford, who died April 26, 2003 at the Rogue Valley Medical Center, Medford. Mrs. Eaton was born Jan. 6, 1924 at Raton, N.M., the daughter of Clara and O.D. Ellis. She was raised in North Dakota and graduated high school from Langdon, N.D. In June of 1949 at Burbank, Calif., she married Wesley W. Eaton who died in 1959. Mrs. Eaton moved to Ashland in 1959 until she moved to Medford in 2001. Mrs. Eaton worked as a waitress for many years and in the Specialty packing division of Harry and David. She enjoyed camping, hunting, fishing, and reading. She volunteered with the Rainbow Girls and was a member of AARP. Surviving are: her daughter, Marianne Bowles of Manassas, Va.; her son, Boyd Eaton of Medford, Ore.; one brother, Delbert Ellis of Pamona, Calif.; one sister, Elita Trinneer of Aberdeen, Wash.; four grandchildren, Cheri Hernandez, Kym Eaton, Sonia Bowles and Shannon Hilstad; and four great grandchildren. In addition to her husband she was preceded in death by one brother and one sister. Arrangements are under the direction of the Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home and Cremation Center, Ashland. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -