Arlys Jeanette Finch

Arlys J. Finch, 74, passed away on Monday, May 4th, 2026 in Roswell, NM. Please take a moment and share a kind thought or memory with Arlys’ family at www.andersonbethany.com. SERVICES: There will be a Celebration of Life at Church on the Move (901 W. Brasher Rd, Roswell) on Monday, June 8th, 2026 at 11am. Following the service, family and friends are welcomed to join Arlys’ family at Beginnings (3908 SE Main St, Roswell). Arlys was born on September 6, 1952, in Watford City, North Dakota, to Clifford and Ruby Haugen, both Norwegian immigrants. She spent her childhood and young adult years on a wheat farm near Havre, Montana, where life was shaped by hard work, harsh winters, and the deep bonds of family. Stories of blizzards, trips to the outhouse in every kind of weather, and life alongside her five sisters became treasured memories. Her childhood was rich with large family gatherings filled with Norwegian heritage, pinochle games, and homemade lefsa. After graduating from high school, Arlys became a Certified Phlebotomist and later worked at Beth Israel Hospital in Denver, Colorado. While living in Denver, she attended a College and Career group at her church, where she met the love of her life, Glen Finch, a native of Dexter, New Mexico. The two were married on February 18, 1976. Together, they returned to Dexter, where they farmed and raised their three children. In her early forties, Arlys made the courageous decision to return to college, earning two Bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s degree in Microbiology. Throughout her career, she worked for Fish and Wildlife, Dexter High School, and Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, where she taught upper-level Math, Science, and ESL classes. Arlys possessed many remarkable talents and interests that were not widely known. She was fluent in Spanish and continued studying Norwegian well into her later years. She was also a certified scuba diver, an accomplished seamstress, and an avid collector of insects. For more than two decades, Arlys was a faithful member of Church on the Move. She served devotedly as a missionary to orphanages in Mexico and had a deep love for children and young people who needed compassion, stability, and a place to belong. Many young people in the Dexter and Hagerman communities were welcomed into her life and, in some cases, into her home to live as one of her own. She kept a notebook filled with their names and faithfully prayed for each one for as long as she was able. Arlys was brilliant, strong-minded, loving, prayerful, and tender-hearted. Her legacy of faith, strength, generosity, and unconditional love will continue to live on in the countless lives she touched. She will be deeply missed. Those left to cherish the memory of Arlys are her daughter, Shama Bootzin and husband Josh Bootzin; her son, Jesse Finch and wife Chelsey Finch; her grandchildren, Darian Escudero, Jeremiah Bootzin, Wate Finch, Milly Finch, Boone Finch, Gatlyn Finch, and Heston Finch; and her great-grandchildren, Elliyana and Camilla Escudero. She is also survived by her sisters, Marcia Verploegen, Vicki Verploegen, Shelly Ohm and Stacy Waid, along with many beloved in-laws, nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Arlys was preceded in death by her son, Benjamin Finch; her husband, Glen Finch; her parents and parents-in-law; her older sister, Sandra Glover; her brothers-in-law, Larry Finch and Lindell Finch; and her sister-in-law, Marsha Collum.

Arlys Jeanette Finch

September 6, 1952 - May 4, 2026