Gerald Fink

Gerald Fink, age 79 of Carbondale, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 in Memorial Hospital of Carbondale surrounded by his loving family. He was born in 1938 in Mill Creek to Doyle and Mildred Fink. Gerald married Marlene Cotton in 1962. They were blessed with 55 years of marriage, serving as a role model to family and friends for what makes a happy and lasting marriage. He received his civil engineering degree from the esteemed Missouri School of Mining and Metallurgy in Rolla, Mo. Upon receiving his degree he began work for the U.S. Forest Service planning public access areas for parks across the country. Returning to Southern Illinois to build a family, he began working for the Highway Department in Carbondale as a Civil Engineer and later for the SIU Department of Mechanical Engineering. Gerald was an exceedingly talented craftsman with a true inventor mindset – applying his expertise to restoring machinery, customizing the family residence and offering assistance to many individuals and organizations in the community seeking repair for the “unfixable”. There was nothing he could not repair – and if he needed a non-existent part, he created one. He always crafted an ideal and expedient solution and was quick to lend a helping hand to others. He was a member of The American Thresherman Association and restored his own 1924 Keck-Gonnerman Steam Engine to its original state. In this endeavor, Gerald recreated long-lost artwork essential to the restoration process helping other Keck owners achieve the same goal. Gerald and Marlene are members of the First Methodist Church of Carbondale. Gerald is survived by his loving wife, Marlene Fink of Carbondale; a daughter, Lynn Fink (Kevin Olson) of Chicago; a son, Michael (Leah Lovett-Fink) Fink of Denver, CO; grandchildren, Bruce Fink and Lorelei Fink of Denver, CO; a sister, Marilyn (Ernest) Russell of Jonesboro; nieces, Elizabeth Russell-Bowen of Buncombe and Kim Russell-Burger of Scott City, MO; other relatives and a host of friends. He is preceded in death by his parents. Memorial services for Gerald Fink hosted by the family will be Friday February 23, 2018 at 3:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Carbondale with Rev.Alan R. Rhein officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the American Cancer Society. www.cancer.org Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Gerald Fink

February 22, 1938 - December 20, 2017