Monday, October 19, 2020

A farewell parade through the East Village for Jack Finelli

On Saturday, friends and family came together to celebrate the life of longtime East Village resident Jack Finelli ... embarking on a tour of his favorite neighborhood places...
Joshua Weeks provided a snapshot of his father's life:
The East Village lost a longtime community member, John Robert ("Jack") Finelli, this past July. Jack was born Jan. 30, 1936, in Jackson Heights, Queens. He moved to the Lower East Side in 1968, where he stayed until September 2018.
With an accounting degree from New York University, Jack helped countless local residents and businesses with their taxes through tough times, including the famous Electric Circus, Whole Earth Bakery and the Theater for the New City. 
A lifelong student of health and spirituality, he traveled to Mexico and studied macrobiotics with pioneer Michio Kushi in 1983, and was known for making tofu in his East Fifth Street walk-up, where he lived for 43 years. Jack was also a lover of acting and music, and contributed to performances and workshops at many theaters and gardens around lower Manhattan. Jack helped produce the 2007 film "To My Great Chagrin" about his longtime friend, comedian Brother Theodore.
He was a beloved member of the De Colores and Campos community gardens, where he remained active until suffering a debilitating stroke in late 2018. Jack passed peacefully in his sleep on July 24, 2020. He is survived by his sister, Judith Finelli-Thomsen and his son, Joshua Weeks.
EVG contributor Stacie Joy shared these photos...
Here are a few more photos courtesy of the De Colores Community Yard & Cultural Center on Eighth Street... including from outside Finelli's longtime apartment building on Fifth Street... 
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 19, 2020 at 12:06 PM

    Jack was a true friend and always made me smile.
    May his soul rest in peace. He is missed!

    Thank you EV Grieve for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RonnieOctober 19, 2020 at 7:57 PM

    neighbor, pioneer, legend... RIP

    ReplyDelete
  3. Richard Paul ClemenceauOctober 20, 2020 at 4:51 AM

    We who remain in his wake, whilst engaging in our East Village quotidian intercourse, harbor his countenance and spiritual essence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KathrynOctober 20, 2020 at 9:58 AM

    Thank you EV Grieve for sharing the memorial event. Jack will be deeply missed by so many of us. A true neighbor and dear friend. Generous with his wit and esoteric knowledge. His memories will live on.

    ReplyDelete

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