Biography: Curtis Finch Jr., 92, passed away Tuesday, May 12, at home.  He was born Jan. 21, 1934, in Little Rock to Elizabeth (Libby) Pearson Finch and Curtis Finch Sr.  His father worked for the Magnolia Petroleum Company in Dallas and was transferred to Little Rock in 1933, two months before Curtis was born. He is survived by his wife, Jackye, and daughter, Leslie Finch and son-in-law, Romy Benton, of Portland, OR. Other survivors include sister-in-law Jerrie Finch, nephews Matt Finch and wife Casey, Merritt Dyke and wife Anne and Robert Finch. He was preceded in death by his son, Greg Finch, his brother, Les Finch, his parents and his first wife, Louise Porter Finch. 

He is a 1951 graduate of Little Rock High School, now known as Little Rock Central High School. During his high school years, he was manager of the athletic teams and attended  camp at the Culver Summer Naval School. He later became treasurer for the 1951 Class Reunion and helped organize many of those gatherings. He attended  Vanderbilt University, graduating with a business degree in 1955. While there he was a member and treasurer of Kappa Sigma fraternity, writer for the school paper and a member of the Army ROTC. After college, he was assigned to Germany where he served in the U.S. Army Finance Corps from 1955-57.  Returning to Little Rock, he joined his then-father-in-law’s businesses of warehousing, moving and storage and foodservice distribution. In 1975 he became the sole owner of Commercial Warehouse Company and Porter Foods Inc., an institutional foodservice distributor supplying restaurants, hospitals, schools and nursing homes throughout Arkansas and surrounding states.  Finch built Porter Foods into the state’s largest institutional foodservice distributor. He was active as a longtime member of the executive committee of CODE National Foodservice Distributors, a purchasing/marketing group of foodservice distributors across the USA. In 1984 he sold Porter Foods to the foodservice division of the Sara Lee Corporation.  He sold Commercial Warehouse Company in 1995.

His most active interest was the Arkansas Arts Center, now known as the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. He served as board president 1986/87, chairman of the AAC Foundation and chairman of the $22 million capital campaign in 1999 which raised funds to enlarge the Arts Center by 30,000 sq. ft. He also served on the capital campaign committee for the $176 million expansion completed in 2024. He was awarded the Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award and later served as chairman of its selection committee. Finch was recently honored with the title of Trustee Emeritus by the AMFA board.

Influenced by Townsend Wolfe, the longtime director of the Arts Center, Finch became interested in collecting drawings which were the focus of the AAC collection.  In 2002, “About Face,” Finch’s collection of “faces” was exhibited at the AAC and at six colleges and universities in Arkansas.  In 2013/14 “Face to Face” his collection of 118 artists’ self-portraits was exhibited at the Arkansas Arts Center and then traveled to several other museums. The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. has chosen two of Finch’s drawings for inclusion in its exhibits.

Curtis Finch was an avid games player, winning the first Gin Rummy Tournament at the Little Rock Club in 1971 by defeating his father, Curtis Finch Sr.  Backgammon was next, and then in 1990 after injuring his wrist he asked his father to teach him how to play duplicate bridge.  They played regularly twice a week until his father’s death at 98 in 2001.  David Siebert rekindled Finch’s interest in bridge in 2006. Finch was instrumental in the building of a new home for the Little Rock Duplicate Bridge Club. The Curtis Finch Bridge House was named after Finch’s father, who was credited with starting duplicate bridge in Little Rock in the late 1940’s. When Curtis was in high school, the legendary bridge columnist Charles Goren was a dinner guest at the Finch home. Fried chicken was served, and “my mother had to tell him he could pick it up with his fingers.”

In 1971, realizing that alcohol had become a serious problem, Finch sought the help of friends with the same affliction. He was active for many years in helping others recover from alcoholism and was approaching his 55th year of sobriety.

Finch was active in Little Rock industry and community affairs, serving as president of the Downtown YMCA 1971/72, Pulaski Drainage District #2, the Arkansas Symphony board, the Budget Committee of the United Way, the UALR Board of Visitors, Foundation Board member at UAMS, board member of Savers Federal Savings and Loan and president of the Country Club of Little Rock 1979/81

Finch married Jackye Shipley in 1981, and the couple became winter residents of Naples, Florida, in 1989. As a member of the Royal Poinciana Golf Club, he was soon invited to join the “Baxter Group” of golfers, organized by his good friend, Bill Baxter, from southeast Arkansas. He was a board member of the Forum Club of Southwest Florida, and also supported art museums in Naples and other civic organizations. They returned to full-time residency in Arkansas in 1993 after he suffered a cardiac arrest. 
After his retirement, he and Jackye traveled extensively and added to their collection with art from Great Britain, Ireland, Europe, China, India, Mexico, as well as the United States.

Recently the Finches commissioned two sculptures for The Orthopedic and Spine Hospital at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). The couple had previously served as co-chairs of the committee to select art for the expansion of the medical center that opened in 2009. They have been members of the UAMS Double Helix Society, which recognizes major donors.

In 2005 the couple endowed three scholarships at the University of Arkansas’ Honors College. The Bob and Ruth Shipley Honors College Fellowship is awarded to a student majoring in Journalism or English.  The Libby Finch Study Abroad Award in the Honors College and the Libby Finch Advance Arkansas Endowed Study Abroad Scholarship are travel stipends for students already engaged in programs abroad.  Over 60 students have benefited from these scholarships.

In 1980, Finch served as campaign chairman of Frank White’s successful win over Gov. Bill Clinton. His only previous experience with politics was running for class president in high school. He was defeated by a girl.

Fly fishing was another passion, and he caught salmon, trout and other fish in Wyoming, Louisiana, Florida, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Montana, England, Scotland and South America. His wildest adventure fishing took place in Brazil and up the Amazon basin, flying around in an overloaded Beechcraft Bonanza.

Friends respected his stoicism and strength of character, his dry wit, civil generosity, brain power and kindness. One friend and business associate said, having dealt with hundreds and hundreds of real estate investors and businessmen in his career that “Curtis was one of the best I’ve ever worked with. A lot of people are smart but some of them take a long time to make a decision.  Curtis is very fast. He has a keen grasp of the situation and he has good timing. And with his interest in art, he goes after that avocation like everything else he does—with a passion for doing it right and for doing it in depth.”

A service celebrating Curtis’ life will be held Wednesday, May 20, at 3:30 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Boulevard, Little Rock, with a reception following at the Country Club of Little Rock, 4200 Country Club Boulevard. Complimentary valet parking is available at the reception. Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com Honorary pallbearers are the past presidents of the Country Club of Little Rock.