John Michael Finnegan, 71, of Hudson, Wisconsin, died Aug. 10, 2023. He was born on Sept. 19, 1951, to William and Catherine (Thienes) in St. Paul. After graduating from Murray High School, John joined the U.S. Army Reserves.
Later, he earned his boiler engineering license and worked in the St. Paul school district until his retirement in 2010. John married Jerri (Baird) on June 23, 1988.
He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoyed camping and canoeing, spent hours in his vegetable garden and worked hard canning his produce. John would help anyone with anything.
As a child, he grew up living next to Como Zoo and would help take the animals for walks, including the lions and tigers! However, his favorite animals were his faithful dogs.
John is survived by his wife, Jerri; children, Kelly (Dan) Odegard, Brian (Jill) Brown, Jessie (Ryan) Peterson, Lisa (Peter) Keller, Michael (Anne) Finnegan; six grandchildren; and siblings, Pat Finnegan, Tim Finnegan, Dan Finnegan, Colleen Kroona, Mary Madigan and Mike Finnegan. He was preceded in death by his parents and two grandchildren.
