Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

June 7, 1929 — Oct. 21, 2020

Joanne L. Fintze, 91, wife, mother, grandmother, community service activist and gardener, died peacefully at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, with family around at her home, in Niles, following a brief illness. Her family is grateful for the kind and compassionate care offered by the staff of hospice.

She was born on June 7, 1929, in Warren, Pennsylvania, to Morse and Agnes (Widing) Peterson and was graduated from Warren High School. She came to Niles in 1962 and was employed for more than 25 years in the sales offices of the National-Standard Corporation.

Joanne was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Niles. She was the first president of the Four Flags Garden Club when it was founded in 1966 and has been cultivating the gardens of the Niles Railroad Depot ever since then. She was also a member of the Psi Iota Xi Fraternity, in Niles, and a former member of the Berrien County Civitan, and the Niles Service League. Her interest in gardening was evident at her home where she maintained flower gardens and enjoyed creating arrangements of fresh-cut flowers.

On Oct. 3, 1953, in Warren she married Richard J. Fintze, with whom she celebrated the remarkable 56th anniversary of their wedding prior to his death on June 20, 2010. They were also sadly preceded in death by a son, James Fintze, in 1982; and by Joanne’s sisters, Beatrice Klein and Jean Federko.

Surviving family includes her daughters, Lisa (Ray) Terry, of Marietta, Georgia, and Susan (James Schrader) Fintze, of Niles; granddaughter, Tiffany Terry; and several nieces and nephews.

The family of Joanne Fintze is gathering privately to honor her life and share memories. Committal will be in Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles. Contributions in memory of Joanne may be made to the FPC Foundation of the First Presbyterian Church, 13 S. Fourth St., Niles, MI 49120, firstpresofniles.org.

Online condolences may be left at: halbritterwickens.com.

Joanne clearly enjoyed cultivating and arranging flowers, promoting and encouraging her community and working alongside likeminded friends to complete these projects. More than flowers and community, she loved her family, and the Creator of these blessings.