Joseph Finger

Joseph S. Finger died September 28, 2003 at his home. He was born June 4, 1918, in Houston, Texas where he lived until retiring to Kerrville in 1988. He was the son of Gertrude and Joseph Finger, prominent Houston architect whose works included the Houston City Hall, Harris County Courthouse, the original Houston Airport now Hobby, and many other Houston landmarks.Mr. Finger graduated from Rice Institute, now Rice University BS in Chemical Engineering and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MS in Chemical Engineering Practice. While at Rice he was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the National Honorary Engineering Society and Phi Lambda Upsilon, the National Honorary Chemical Society. He was a four year golf letterman at Rice, serving as CoCaptain of the 19 golf team which won the Southwest Conference Championship.In 1941 Mr. Finger began his professional career as a chemical engineer with Pan America Refining Corp. now AMOCO. He was a process engineer on the unit making toluene for TNT. In 1943 he joined the J.S. Abercrombie and Co. helped with the design, startup and operation of the 100 octane aviation gasoline refinery at Old Ocean, Texas. In spite of many attempts to get into the armed forces, he was consistently deferred by the Petroleum Administration for War. At Wars end he received a Letter of Appreciation from the Petroleum Industry Committee for his war efforts.After the war Mr. Finger entered the plastics industry, becoming one of the pioneers in developing a new product fiberglass reinforced polyester panels which are still in use to let light into metal industrial buildings and in greenhouses. The company, known as Corrulux, was later sold to LibbeyOwensFord Glass Co., where he remained as President of the Corrulux Division for four years. He held several patents on the manufacturing process of the product, which is used all over the world.He then turned to his favorite pastime golf for his next venture. Golf course design has been his hobby for many years. He became Club Champion at Westwood Country Club in Houston at the age of 17, a championship held for 13 years. Starting out as an unpaid superintendent and doing all of the engineering work for the golf course architect hired by Westwood to add 9 holes to their course, he was recommended by the architect to apply for the course at Randolph Air Force base in San Antonio. He got the job.From that humble beginning he became one of the top golf course architects in the country, as judged by the number of his works included in Golf Digests list of Americas 100 Greatest Courses out of a total of 12,000. His courses earned many honors over the 45 years he spent in the business. He designed courses from New York through the southeast, southwest and into California and Mexico. He also built nine courses for the Air Force. His consulting work took him to Canada, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Spain, Italy Germany. He was particularly honored when Byron Nelson asked him to help rebuild the 8th green at the Masters.During his career he had been a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Director of the National Club Association, a lifetime member of the national Society of Professional Engineers, and the R Association at Rice University where he received the Distinguished R Award for his continuing support of Rice Athletics and notable achievements in community and professional Life.In 1988 he retired and moved to Kerrville, where he and Byron Nelson had designed the Riverhill Country Club golf course. He continued giving guidance in course maintenance and modernization to former clients requesting his assistance. His final undertaking was the complete remodeling of the Scott Schriener Municipal Golf Course for the City of Kerrville. The present course is a tribute to his talent in design, engineering, and supervision.After his retirement Mr. Finger, who enjoyed and was very knowledgeable about music formed the Riverhill Pops Music Society, offering members the opportunity to enjoy classical and Big Band music at a monthly concert. The society is now in its 8th year, and was a source of much pleasure and pride to him, as was his large fruit and vegetable garden where he spent many happy hours.Mr. Finger is survives by his wife of 59 years, Julia, his daughter Frances Tassie and her husband, Stephen Bielsky, MD his son, Joseph Jeffrey Finger Grandsons, Alan Bielsky and wife Isadora and Eric Bielsky SistersInLaw and BrothersInLaw, Rosalie Salinger, Margaret and husband Charles King, Bud Rosenfeld and wife Wenona, Ferdy Rosenfeld and wife Sally, and Denise Rosenfeld Many Nieces and Nephews, several Cousins, and longtime helper and friend Hazel Holt.A memorial service for Mr. Finger will be held at 10:00a.m. on Wednesday October 1, 2003 at the Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville, TX. Those wishing to send memorials may do so to Vista Care hospice, 420 Water Street, suite 104, Kerrville, TX 78028, or to the charity of their choice.

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