77.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesOn Island Profile: Magda 'Maggie' Finch

On Island Profile: Magda 'Maggie' Finch

April 19, 2009 — While working as a nurse, Magda "Maggie" Finch served the community in a myriad of ways. In retirement she continues to serve the community, from the youngest to the oldest.
"We all have the responsibility to give back to the community," she says. "Someone helped us — it is our responsibility to give back."
When Finch was in the fourth grade, her mother, Threna Henry, was very sick and hospitalized. Then and there she decided to be a nurse.
"Thats what started my mission to help people, and I've never strayed," Finch says. Her mission from then on was to get her degree, come back to help her mom and fulfill the need for nurses on St. Croix.
Finch was born in 1949 in Frederiksted and grew up in a single-parent home. Her mother, who raised her, was a seamstress working two jobs. Her father was Louis Brown.
"We were poor, but I never realized it," Finch says. "Somehow or other, if we wanted something, she saved for it. Even as a single parent, my mother was able to send two children to parochial school."
Finch went to St. Patrick's Elementary School and graduated from St. Joseph's High School. Her mother was a big influence in everything she did, and supported Finch in her community volunteerism.
Her older brother, Walter Golden, watched over her while her mother was working, taking her with him to play basketball and baseball. Some of her best memories are times spent with him playing basketball. That's when her love of sports began — Finch admits she was a tomboy.
She learned to play tennis during her college years, beginning at the College of the Virgin Islands, where she attained a two-year nursing degree. From there she went to Loyola University in Chicago, earning her bachelor's degree in 1974. She went on to get her master's in pediatrics in 1976 at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
She never wanted to go into administration with her master's degree, but wanted to work directly helping people.
"I loved and enjoyed being with patients and interacting with them where I felt I could do the most for them," Finch says.
She started out at Charles Harwood Hospital on the medical floor, then went to the pediatrics ward. In 1978 she went to the Health Department, working in the Maternal and Child Clinic. At the clinic her specialty was outpatient followup care, specializing in high-risk babies with abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, spina bifida or cardiac problems. She also did health screenings for Head Start.
Finch always tried new programs and clinics to help keep the community healthy. She worked with Dr. Cora Christian in the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program that began in 1987. She was in charge of newborn screening, keeping statistics, counseling and educating parents on care of children with sickle-cell problems.
She officially retired in 2001 to spend more time with her husband of 33 years, Earl "Larry" Finch, who had retired from the V.I. Port Authority. Finch says she could not do all that she does without the support of her husband.
"I had worked in health care for 31 years," Finch says. "At some point, no matter how much money you have, you realize you can't take it with you. It was time to enjoy life with my husband."
Finch and her husband got out and did some worthwhile projects together for children in the community.
For eight years, until Larry had knee surgery, they held a free tennis clinic at the Canegata tennis courts for children after school. The purpose was to get children into other sports.
"Children don't realize how many tennis scholarships are out there," Finch says. "Tennis for me is to get young people involved to help get an education."
Recently Finch, a self-professed "tennis freak," took part for her 16th year in the annual Women's Coalition Tennis Tournament.
Krissy Elien, a player in this year's tournament, took lessons from Finch, as did her brother, Kris. Both went to college on tennis scholarships. Kris Elien, the number one male tennis player in the territory, is on the professional tennis tour, and will play in the Davis Cup in July.
"My brother and I both thank her for introducing us to tennis," Krissy Elien says. "She taught me my wicked volley and drop shots. I owe it all to her."
Finch is involved in the welfare of children in her position on the board of directors for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). She has served on the board for four years and organized the CASA Tennis Tournament the past three years. Funds raised from the tournament go to the Homework Helpers afterschool program.
Finch also serves on the board of directors for the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation, which was established to give scholarships to students in the health profession who commit to working in the Virgin Islands.
She cares about seniors in the community, working as an advocate for them in AARP. She is a member of the Retired Nurses Association, which began as a support group. The group has been working on raising funds for the new V.I. Cardiac Center, and it also provides yearly nursing scholarships.
To top it all off, Finch has been a member of the St. Croix Orchid Society for three years.
"I love working with orchids because it relaxes me," she says. Her husband built her a greenhouse, and she has more than 100 orchids, some of which were gifts from people who know she loves the flowers.
She and Larry take at least one trip a year to some place new and different. Finch also takes trips to the States to see her children: Charmaine in Washington, D.C., and her son, Shaun, in Tallahassee, Fla. She is very proud of her children, and says they were brought up as she and Larry were.
Finch has one wish for other retired people of the community.
"I would like to see more retired people get involved with non-profits that cater to children and elderly," she says.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.