General News
24 September, 2024
Vale Valrie Finch: a life of teaching, mentoring and community service
Valrie Finch, 92, leaves lasting legacy in Horsham.
Former Horsham High School teacher, Valrie Finch, died on September 10, 2024 in Melbourne.
She was 92.
Valrie was born at Kaniva, 30 kilometres from the family wheat and sheep farm at Sandsmere.
She rode her horse to a small one-teacher primary school in the bush in the Mallee.
Here she got her first taste of teaching by helping other children.
Valrie played school football because there were too few boys for teams.
Valrie attended Nhill High School before gaining a studentship to study at the University of Melbourne to become a secondary teacher.
She lived in the secondary teachers' hostel in Dandenong Road - Frank Tate House.
Her first permanent teaching appointment was at Drouin, in Gippsland, where she taught her senior classes in a hall divided by a curtain from lively kindergarten girls and boys on the other side.
Here she met librarian Alan Finch, becoming engaged three weeks later.
In over 60 years of marriage, Valrie collaborated with Alan on many literature and history projects.
This included publishing books, a local history magazine, Wimmera district and family histories, and running writing workshops.
In her copious spare time, in an average week, Valrie read two or three books.
After having four children, Valrie started teaching again at Horsham High School, becoming head of the English department in the early 1990s.
Her main subjects were English and French, but she capably taught many other subjects.
In 1991, she established the annual Val Finch Writing Award for student writing.
She retired after 22 years, when high and technical schools merged to form Horsham College.
Valrie had a strong interest in arts and crafts; there was always something new to be made, or a new skill to be learnt, from tatting to lead lighting.
Among her many diverse interests were quilt-making, bobbin lacemaking, and compiling cryptic crossword puzzles.
She passed her skills to many other people, both informally and through special workshops.
Valrie spent many happy hours as part of Wimmera Patchwork Quilters and Wimmera Spinners and Weavers.
Valrie was a committee member of the former Wimmera Wool Factory, and the Horsham Learning Centre known as Hub.
After retirement, she continued teaching a variety of language and craft-related courses at the Hub and U3A.
She judged many local writing competitions.
Valrie and Alan moved to Vectis in 1974 and lived there for over 40 years.
She loved living in the rural bush environment, reminiscent of her childhood home, and the community she found there.
Throughout her life, Valrie enhanced the lives of many people through her teaching, mentoring and friendship.
Her husband Alan and son Tim predeceased her.
Her surviving children are Sue, Chris and Jon.
There are nine grandchildren.