We'll miss you, Finny

Craig Finberg's two-month battle with pancreatic cancer came to an end Friday afternoon, March 20, as he passed away at his home in Dillon at the age of 51 — surrounded by his family and close friends. They included his mother, Norma. His father, Math, passed away in 1999.

According to a note from his family on the CaringBridge Web site, "It was a very peaceful ending to such a wonderful life. We hope that you will join us now to help celebrate 'Finny's' life."

A memorial service is set for today (Thursday) at 6 p.m. in the Columbia Falls High School gymnasium. Those attending are asked by Craig's family to dress casually, wearing a "Finny" or Wildcat shirt or jersey — in support of Craig and the Wildcats.

Funeral services in Dillon are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28 at Beaverhead High School, with a reception immediately afterward at the UM-Western Keltz Arena.

A Columbia Falls native, Finberg is a 1975 graduate of Columbia Falls High School who led the Wildcats to the Class A state basketball championship game. He earned all-state recognition and was inducted into the CFHS Hall of Fame.

After graduating from CFHS, Finberg was an outstanding player for Montana State University. As a Bobcat, he scored 1,473 points, the seventh most in school history. He finished second in assists, and became a member of the Bobcat Hall of Fame in 2003.

After attending MSU, Finberg played in the Continental Basketball Association — for two seasons with the Anchorage Northern Lights and one season with the Montana Golden Nuggets (Great Falls). Then Finberg had a free-agent tryout with the Portland Trail Blazers and was one of the last players cut.

AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN as "Finny," he coached basketball at Montana Western in Dillon for three years while he was getting his B.A. degree in teaching. Then he began a 19-year career as boys head coach at Beaverhead High School in Dillon. His 281-160 record made him the most successful coach in school history. His teams qualified for state 11 times, winning state championships in 1990 and 1999. The Beavers placed second twice, third twice and fourth three times.

After graduating from Montana Western, Craig's brother Cary coached the boys freshman team in Dillon for two seasons — including in 1990 when the Beavers won the state championship.

"To learn the ropes from the coaching end of it and from your best friend is a special time," Cary said. "Part of the reason why I went to Western is because of him."

Craig coached the Beavers through the 2005 season. He resigned in May that year, though he stayed on as a physical education teacher at the school.

For the last three seasons, Finny was an assistant coach on the Montana Western men's basketball team, also in Dillon.

Finberg was diagnosed with the disease after first suffering a symptom — a severe stomach pain — the night before Montana Western's Jan. 17 game against Westminster College in Salt Lake City. His last game coaching was in an emotional Jan. 31 home win over Montana Tech. The next week Finberg and his wife, Tammy, headed to Zion, Ill., to begin battling the disease — which was in stage 4 — with chemotherapy treatments. On the Web site, his family said in mid-March that the chemo was not working in battling the aggressive cancer.

"You grow up idolizing your big brother and you kind of want to follow in his footsteps," Cary said of Craig, and that went beyond the game of basketball. "He's just a good guy. He was probably my best friend, not even counting basketball-wise."

Cities and towns across Montana, including Columbia Falls, pitched in to raise money for "Finny's fight." In one day alone in Dillon, more than $23,000 was raised.

The family wrote on the site that it was fitting that his alma mater, Columbia Falls, was playing the team he formerly coached, Dillon, in the state championship game March 14. They said it's also fitting that his sickness was about to end during his favorite time of year — March Madness.

Find the Finberg Web site at www.caringbridge.org/visit/craigfinberg.