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Michael B. Rubin posted a condolence
Friday, October 20, 2023
I am a retired mechanical engineer. I was hoping on my visit to Manhattan at the end of Oct. 2023 to attend alumni events, including several celebrating the 50th annivesary of my graduation from New York University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, to meet and talk to my favorite liberal arts professor in college, Professor Wayne Finke
Wayne was extremely nice to me. He used to call me "Einstein" in class because I always knew the answer to his questions. He gave me a gift each time I got the highest grade on an exam of his. I got the highest grade on all of his exams.
Wayne was very generous. One gift he gave me for getting the best grade on an exam was gold cuff-links made in Toledo, Spain, close to Madrid. Another gift was two tickets to Man of La Mancha on Broadway. He sent me dozens of beautiful post cards from Spain, one from each trip he made there after I was in his class, for many years. He used to travel to Spain several times a year.
I kept in touch with Wayne through my four years at NYU and when I was in graduate school at Cornell University. He told me he'd like to arrange a trip for me to Spain after I got my Masters degree, which he did. He put together a wonderful trip, arranging for me to live for a week with a family in Madrid, during which I saw much of Madrid, thanks in part to Wayne arranging for me to meet a male student of his studying there. I visited several small cities around Madrid that Wayne recommended I see including Toledo, Segovia, and Arranguez.
Wayne told me where in Madrid to get a gift for the family that they would like, which I did. He also told me where to get a good Spanish haircut, which I also did. In those days my hair was still growing well. He arranged for me to visit relatives of the family in Madrid in Léon. The young daughter of the family there, who I think was in her late teens, took me out to dinner and dancing. Her parents were awake at 3 am when we returned to her home. They were waiting for us to return to see if we had a good time.
Wayne hand-picked hotels in several cities for me to stay at, and made plane and train reservations for all my travel. I only remember paying for the round-trip flight from NYC to Spain, which cost a little over $400. I'm quite sure he sent deposits to the hotels that I don't think he asked me to reimburse him for. I don't remember if I paid for the train tickets to various cities and roundtrip flights from Madrid to Barcelona. He may have paid those. Other cities I travelled to were Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada. In one city I stayed at a parador, which is a castle converted into a hotel.
From 1976 to 1979 Iived on 14th St and 4th Avenue in Manhattan, very close to where Wayne lived. We used to meet for dinner once in a while. I last communicated with Wayne in 2020 by e-mail.
Last week I tried to call and e-mail Wayne to see if he'd be in Manhattan when I am there. I was unable to leave him a phone message and my e-mail to his office at Baruch College in Manhattan, part of the City University of New York, where he was at one time Chairman of the Spanish department bounced back as undeliverable because no such address exists now. That prompted me to look him up on the internet. I was very saddened to find out that Wayne died in March 2023 at age 81. I wish I had tried to call him before then.
Michael B. Rubin
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Hande Erkan posted a symbolic gesture
Friday, May 12, 2023
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Prof. Wayne Finke was an incredible professor and an inspiring individual with such a unique personality and spark to live life to its fullest. I feel lucky that I was one of his students and I was in his last class before he passed away. We got to know him personally during our Spanish courses with his knowledge about travel, countries, languages, cultures and so many valuable life experiences that he shared with his students which I will treasure it for the rest of my life. We were all very upset and heartbroken when we learned that we lost Prof. Wayne Finke. Some of us, including myself are still trying to recover from losing such an amazing person with kind heart and soul. He will forever remain alive in our hearts and we will forever be grateful to have known him. My sincerest condolences to Prof. Wayne Finke’s family and loved ones. I hope he rests in peace. We will always love him and we hope to make him proud as his students in the future.
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Jeffrey Belsky uploaded photo(s)
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
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Professor Wayne Finke was an amazing scholar, linguist, professor, and above all, a dear friend. I earned a few scholarships and made great friendships with other former students of his because of him. He never hesitated helping me, especially when I didn’t understand something in Spanish. As far as I’m concerned, he was the bar for language learning. He encouraged me to travel to Cuba, and to travel to and study abroad in Spain. The road trip with him and other students in Spain was incredible. He always went out of his way to help his friends. I’ll always cherish and remember his kindness, and all of the great times, lunches and dinners I had with him.
Jeffrey Belsky
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Roberto Collado uploaded photo(s)
Sunday, April 2, 2023
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Even when I was away, you were there. You always kept in touch with me during my most difficult days. During my time in the service, whether I was in basic training or in some far away land like Iraq, you were always present. I will forever cherish your friendship.
Roberto (el delinquent)
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Roberto Collado uploaded photo(s)
Saturday, April 1, 2023
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Yessenia Guterrez uploaded photo(s)
Saturday, April 1, 2023
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Yessenia Guterrez Posted Apr 1, 2023 at 9:01 PM
Finky was my professor in advanced Spanish literature who then became a colleague then quickly a friend. God brought Finky into our lives for many reasons. He brought Jennifer and I together. As she she said in her memorial speech, we instantly clicked. Like Finky she quickly became a friend but more like a sister. God brought me Finky and Finky brought me Jenn. Gracias a Dios y gracias a Finky. He will forever be missed but live in our hearts forever.
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Simon Yuen uploaded photo(s)
Saturday, April 1, 2023
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You are the Sunshine in my Cold Life.
You are a good, caring "Grandpa" to my son.
Simon, Ann, Hayden
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Ravi Maharjan uploaded photo(s)
Friday, March 31, 2023
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I always remember Professor Finke as a person with loving kindness and compassionate heart. He was not only my external for PhD dissertation but also a great human being. I always remember him bring me tons of books related to Henry James from NY, when he came to Tokyo for Geolinguistics Conference and sharing any article related to my research field. I feel really grateful and lucky to meet him in my life. I had lot of memorable moments with him at a restaurant near Wakoshi station near Tokyo, where we had his favorite wine and food. You will be always in our hearts Professor Finke.
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Emely Alcantara posted a condolence
Friday, March 31, 2023
Thanks to Prof. Finke's encouragement, I was lucky to study abroad in Salamanca, Spain and visited the beautiful island of Cuba during my time as a student at Baruch. I will remember his influence and passion for the arts, culture and language forever.
Rest in peace Prof. Finke.
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Nick del Castillo posted a condolence
Friday, March 31, 2023
We will always remember you as a great friend and a great scholar.
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Hikaru Kitabayashi posted a condolence
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Professor Wayne Finke was a man who changed the lives of those around him in positive ways. He was a mainstay of the American Society of Geolinguistics for many years and it is through his cooperation that Geolinguistics organization were established in Japan and, from Japan, in Nepal. Even though he did not, himself, teach in a graduate school program at Baruch College (CUNY), he served on the evaluation committees of several PhD candidates outside of the CUNY system, resulting in these individuals getting PhDs. He inspired many young people as a teacher and mentor and used his knowledge of academia to direct others so that they could get part-time and full-time positions. He selflessly guided younger colleagues and always did his part to help others get tenure. As the editor in chief of all publications of the American Society of Geolinguistics and its affiliates abroad, he benefited the careers of academics at all levels of their careers in countries throughout the world. He was fearless in his devotion to truth in research and never showed any hesitation in battling with the American State Department in order to get visas for scholars to get visas for attending conferences in New York City, no matter what American government policy might be toward these countries. Speakers from Myanmar, China, Cuba, Nigeria, among many others, who any other conference organizer would have refused to help, were able to attend American Society of Geolinguistics conferences and share their unique perspectives with academics representing the full spectrum of world scholarship. Professor Finke was also unique in that he did not discriminate against others participating in these conferences based on whether they were academics or not, though the great majority were. What was important to him was whether a person had something worthwhile to say and whether others could learn something from that person as a result. He was unique. Sometimes a prickly pear on the outside, like the prickly pear, he was always sweet and useful to others on the inside. To reiterate, he was one of a kind. God created him as a blessing to mankind. May God use his memory as a means of continuing to bless others.
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Michio Tajima posted a condolence
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Wayne Finke. I knew Professor Finke through his work with the ASG and met him at conferences of the Association. He was uniformly kind to me, hospitable to attendees, and generous in constantly encouraging. His generosity and support was always at the forefront of his character. To that end, his legacy is proven by many Japanese graduate students and researchers in Japan.
Michio Tajima, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Nihon University
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Gerald De Maio posted a condolence
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Scholar, linguist, inspiring teacher, world traveler, mentor, great friend, wonderful colleague.
These summed Wayne’s life.
Gerald De Maio, Political Science Department
A Memorial Tree was planted for Wayne Finke
Monday, March 27, 2023
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The family of Wayne H. Finke uploaded a photo
Monday, March 27, 2023
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