Joe B. Finley
Encyclopedia
Joe Bartlett Finley, Jr. (August 6, 1924 - September 10, 2011), was a rancher and businessman in Laredo
, Texas
, who in 1961 was the driving force behind the establishment of the United Independent School District
, which services a large section of Webb County
. In 1964, UISD received nationwide attention as the first school district in Texas to offer bilingual programs.
in Laredo. He rode a train for twenty cents per day from the Callaghan Ranch, where he was reared, to Laredo in order to attend Holding. Finley served for four years in the United States Army
in the Pacific Theatre
during World War II
, a member of the Texas Army National Guard
's 112th Cavalry Regiment, which saw 434 days of combat. Finley was alongside the battleship USS Missouri
when the Empire of Japan
signed the instrument of surrender on September 2, 1945, which effectively ended the war in the Pacific.He was an admirer of General
Douglas MacArthur
, the liberator of the Philippines
in 1944 and later the first United Nations
commander in the Korean War
. Finley had a great knowledge of military history.
, based in Bruni
, Texas. At the time, the City of Laredo was served only by the Laredo Independent School District
. In time, the northern half of Laredo came under the UISD. Along with Amparo Gutierrez and John W. Arndt, Finley is considered part of the "Big Three" of UISD, with a school named for each.
UISD began with 340 pupils in grades one through nine; by the time of Finley's death, the district had 41,000 students. The district adopted the bilingual program at a time when Texas state law forbade the use of Spanish in public schools. According to his daughter, Alicia Finley Richter, Finley "felt very strongly that children should speak both languages."After his thirty-two years as a UISD trustee, Finley maintained a continuing interest in the district. In the late 1990s, his namesake Finley Elementary School was named a National Blue Ribbon School, a point of great satisfaction to him. Finley was present for the opening of the new United High School in 2009 and the 50th anniversary celebration of the establishment of UISD earlier in 2011.
UISD Superintendent Roberto J. Santos said that Finley as a board member "would always look after the taxpayers and make sure we had a balanced budget and ensure people were held accountable for every penny spent."
veteran Charles Callaghan. From 1923 to 1947, the senior Finley was the general manager of the Callaghan, which is located twenty-seven miles north of Laredo off Interstate 35
in Webb County but carries an address in Encinal
in southern La Salle County.
Ricardo Palacios, a retired attorney and neighboring rancher from the Encinal area, recalls how his friend Finley was known for his soft words and patient demeanor: "He was a very good leader. Cowboys would get the cattle excited, and Finley would tell them to back off. We'll do it calmly. . . . He was just another cowboy, a regular guy, very unassuming, not pretentious at all."Finley was a breeder of Hereford
and Santa Gertrudis
cattle. He was a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
in Fort Worth
. Finley was a former chairman of the Texas Animal Health Commission and the president of the United States Animal Health Commission. He was a Webb County "Rancher of the Year" and a director of the Laredo International Fair and Exposition. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge
.
Finley is the author of "Marketing Beef on the Hoof" in the 1959 publication Beef for Tomorrow: Proceedings of a Conference at Purdue University
, October 19-20, 1959.
Finley was a large contributor to the Republican Party
, particularly to the Republican National Committee
.
. Services were held on September 14 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Laredo. Interment was in the Masonic section of the Laredo City Cemetery.
Finley was so highly regarded in his community that the Laredo Morning Times
covered his funeral on the front page. C. J. Tillinghast, a pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cotulla
, Texas, said that Finley was "one of those people who made a difference in everyone's life. He will be missed by all of us."Finley's daughter, Ana Marie, said that her father was "the epitome of service beyond self . . . His service to the Texas Association of School Boards just proved that the path to personal fulfillment isn't always necessarily paved with personal gain."
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, who in 1961 was the driving force behind the establishment of the United Independent School District
United Independent School District
United Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Laredo, Texas, United States.UISD serves portions of the city of Laredo, the cities of El Cenizo and Rio Bravo, and several unincorporated areas in Webb County...
, which services a large section of Webb County
Webb County, Texas
Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...
. In 1964, UISD received nationwide attention as the first school district in Texas to offer bilingual programs.
Background
The only child of Joe B. Finley, Sr. (1899-1979), and Florence Finley (1897-1973), Finley was educated at the Methodist-affiliated Holding InstituteHolding Institute
Holding Institute is a United Methodist-affiliated community center in Laredo, Texas, originally founded in 1882 as a kindergarten and primary school. For nearly a century thereafter, Holding was a state-accredited boys’ and girls’ boarding school...
in Laredo. He rode a train for twenty cents per day from the Callaghan Ranch, where he was reared, to Laredo in order to attend Holding. Finley served for four years in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in the Pacific Theatre
Pacific Theatre
Pacific Theater or Pacific Theatre may refer to*Pacific Ocean Theater, a theater of operations during the Spanish-American War*Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I* Pacific War**Pacific Ocean theater of World War II...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a member of the Texas Army National Guard
Texas Army National Guard
The Texas Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, the United States National Guard and the Texas Military Forces . Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support...
's 112th Cavalry Regiment, which saw 434 days of combat. Finley was alongside the battleship USS Missouri
USS Missouri
Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Missouri in honor of the state of Missouri:, a sidewheel frigate launched in 1841 and destroyed by fire in August 1843, a Maine class battleship in service from 1900 to 1922., an Iowa class battleship in service from 1944 to 1998; site of the...
when the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
signed the instrument of surrender on September 2, 1945, which effectively ended the war in the Pacific.He was an admirer of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, the liberator of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1944 and later the first United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
commander in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Finley had a great knowledge of military history.
School board service
Finley was an original UISD board member, having served from the founding of the district in 1961 until 1993. The district was created by the merging of three small districts, Cactus, Johnson, and Nye, within the still existing Webb Consolidated Independent School DistrictWebb Consolidated Independent School District
Webb Consolidated Independent School District is a school district based in unincorporated Webb County, Texas, United States.WCISD serves the unincorporated communities of Bruni, Mirando City, and Oilton....
, based in Bruni
Bruni, Texas
Bruni is a census-designated place in Webb County, Texas, United States. The population was 412 at the 2000 census. Bruni was named after Antonio Mateo Bruni , a local Italian immigrant who owned a ranch and a general store. In 1937, Canadian aviators seeking to be the first to fly from Hudson Bay...
, Texas. At the time, the City of Laredo was served only by the Laredo Independent School District
Laredo Independent School District
Laredo Independent School District is a public school district based in Laredo, Texas . The district serves the south central portion of Laredo.In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency....
. In time, the northern half of Laredo came under the UISD. Along with Amparo Gutierrez and John W. Arndt, Finley is considered part of the "Big Three" of UISD, with a school named for each.
UISD began with 340 pupils in grades one through nine; by the time of Finley's death, the district had 41,000 students. The district adopted the bilingual program at a time when Texas state law forbade the use of Spanish in public schools. According to his daughter, Alicia Finley Richter, Finley "felt very strongly that children should speak both languages."After his thirty-two years as a UISD trustee, Finley maintained a continuing interest in the district. In the late 1990s, his namesake Finley Elementary School was named a National Blue Ribbon School, a point of great satisfaction to him. Finley was present for the opening of the new United High School in 2009 and the 50th anniversary celebration of the establishment of UISD earlier in 2011.
UISD Superintendent Roberto J. Santos said that Finley as a board member "would always look after the taxpayers and make sure we had a balanced budget and ensure people were held accountable for every penny spent."
Rancher
Finley eventually purchased the Callaghan Ranch, one of the largest cattle operations in the region, having originally been established in the early 1870s as a sheep-raising homestead and named for its founder, the ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
veteran Charles Callaghan. From 1923 to 1947, the senior Finley was the general manager of the Callaghan, which is located twenty-seven miles north of Laredo off Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
in Webb County but carries an address in Encinal
Encinal, Texas
Encinal is a city in La Salle County, Texas, United States. The population was 629 at the 2000 census. Interstate 35 Business runs through the community. There are few businesses in Encinal; most have closed along the main street....
in southern La Salle County.
Ricardo Palacios, a retired attorney and neighboring rancher from the Encinal area, recalls how his friend Finley was known for his soft words and patient demeanor: "He was a very good leader. Cowboys would get the cattle excited, and Finley would tell them to back off. We'll do it calmly. . . . He was just another cowboy, a regular guy, very unassuming, not pretentious at all."Finley was a breeder of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
and Santa Gertrudis
Santa Gertrudis
Santa Gertrudis may refer to: Canada:*Santa Gertrudis-Boca del Infierno Provincial Park, in British Columbia Mexico:* Santa Gertrudis, Oaxaca, a town in the state of Oaxaca...
cattle. He was a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association was created in 1877, when 40 Texas cattlemen joined together out of their common interest to end unbridled livestock theft and formed what was to become Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association....
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. Finley was a former chairman of the Texas Animal Health Commission and the president of the United States Animal Health Commission. He was a Webb County "Rancher of the Year" and a director of the Laredo International Fair and Exposition. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
.
Finley is the author of "Marketing Beef on the Hoof" in the 1959 publication Beef for Tomorrow: Proceedings of a Conference at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, October 19-20, 1959.
Finley was a large contributor to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, particularly to the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
.
Family and death
Finley was married for fifty-two years to the former Edith Mary Grinnan, who survives him. His five daughters, in addition to Alicia Richter, the widow of Edward Richter, Jr., are Ana Maria Finley, Amanda Finley Lasater and husband, Lee, Mary Joe Finley Cranny and her husband, Jim, and Amy Finley Fishcer, and her husband, Jeff, the latter the parents of Finley's three grandchildren.Finley died at the age of eighty-seven at a hospital in Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
. Services were held on September 14 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Laredo. Interment was in the Masonic section of the Laredo City Cemetery.
Finley was so highly regarded in his community that the Laredo Morning Times
Laredo Morning Times
The Laredo Morning Times is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation.The Laredo Morning Times was founded on June 14, 1881 as "the Laredo Weekly," a four-page newspaper published by James Saunders Penn. Two years later, the paper became a...
covered his funeral on the front page. C. J. Tillinghast, a pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cotulla
Cotulla, Texas
Cotulla is a city in and the county seat of La Salle County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,614 at the 2000 census.-History:In 1868, Polish immigrant Joseph Cotulla arrived in La Salle County and eventually established a large ranching operation...
, Texas, said that Finley was "one of those people who made a difference in everyone's life. He will be missed by all of us."Finley's daughter, Ana Marie, said that her father was "the epitome of service beyond self . . . His service to the Texas Association of School Boards just proved that the path to personal fulfillment isn't always necessarily paved with personal gain."