Florence Finney
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Florence Finney | |
|---|---|
| President pro tempore of the Connecticut State Senate | |
| In office July 10, 1973 – 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Peter L. Cashman |
| Succeeded by | Joseph J. Fauliso |
| Member of the Connecticut State Senate from the 36th district | |
| In office 1955–1976 | |
| Preceded by | Ivor Kenway |
| Succeeded by | Michael L. Morano |
| Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the Greenwich district | |
| In office 1949–1955 Serving with Milo A. Mitchell (1949–1951), Archibald H. Tunick (1951–1953), Harold O. Douglass (1953–1955) | |
| Preceded by | Martha M. McKeehan |
| Succeeded by | V. Hall Everson, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Florence Donady March 19, 1903 |
| Died | May 28, 1994 (aged 91) |
| Party | Republican Party |
| Occupation | Politician |
Florence Donady Finney (March 19, 1903 – May 28, 1994) was an American politician and civic leader who served as the first woman president pro tempore of the Connecticut State Senate from 1973 through 1974. A Republican representing Greenwich, she served in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1949–1955) and the Senate (1955–1976).[1][2]
Finney was born in Long Island City, New York, on March 19, 1903, to William M. and Elizabeth (Conroy) Donady.[2] She attended William Cullen Bryant High School and worked as a secretary for New York insurance firms after graduation.[3]
On a visit to her sister who lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, she met James A. Finney, a local grocer. She married Finney and moved to Greenwich in 1923. They had their only child, James A. Finney Jr., in 1925. Finney worked as executive secretary to the vice president of Guggenheim Brothers from 1928 to 1935, resigning to help her husband launch an awnings business. Throughout her subsequent career in politics, she kept the business's accounts and repaired the sewing machines.[3][4]
During World War II, Finney volunteered for the American Red Cross Motor Corps, sewed 3500 hours for the Red Cross, and volunteered Sundays at the Greenwich Civil Defense Control Center. She began volunteering for the local Republicans Party in 1940. Prescott Bush appointed her to a special committee investigating the dismissal of a local public official.[4] She won a seat on the 230-member Greenwich Representative Town Meeting in 1941, serving continuously for 42 years.[5]