Charlotte Elizabeth (Wood) Finlay passed away peacefully at home on Friday, January 15 ^th , 2021 after a battle with cancer. Her husband of 49 years, Dennis Bradley Finlay, their son, Dennis Patrick Finlay, and daughter, Kayla Marie Klaitz-Finlay, were by her side, along with her brother, Charles McKernan Wood, sister, Rosemary Eileen DyReyes, and niece, Julia Eileen DyReyes. Charlotte was 76 years old.

Charlotte was born in 1944, the second daughter of Charles Madden Wood Sr. and Rosemary (McKernan) Wood. She was raised in Collingswood, New Jersey, in a household where mischief and mayhem were the rule. In retrospect, this shaped her formative years and helped her to develop an endless supply of patience, forgiveness, and humor, which would serve her well later in life.

She graduated from Camden Catholic High School in Camden, New Jersey in 1962 and later graduated from St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in Philadelphia in 1965, however she wasn't ready to settle down. With a thirst for adventure and travel, she joined Capital Airways as a stewardess. For a year, Charlotte circled the globe as a glamourous stewardess, enjoying layovers in exotic places such as St. Petersburg, Paris, Tokyo, and Athens. She also became a hero and was recognized by Capital Airways after she saved a passenger's life midflight with her quick thinking and her nursing skills.

Post her aviation adventures, Charlotte chose another adventure and lived in New York City with her nursing school friends, working in the emergency room of Columbia University Hospital. She later returned to New Jersey and enrolled in St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Fiercely determined to advance her nursing education, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1971 while also working full-time as head nurse of the Emergency Room of Jefferson Hospital. While attending St. Joseph's University, she crossed paths with a handsome, charismatic, roguish U.S. Marine Corps veteran named Dennis Finlay, who swept her off her feet. Charlotte and Dennis were married in 1972 and made their home in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. They relocated briefly to Toledo, Ohio, but eventually settled in Haddonfield, New Jersey to raise their cherished children: Dennis, Maire, Colleen, and Kayla. Charlotte had a love of animals and took in a number of dogs, cats, abandoned kittens, and even down-on-their-luck ducks who found their way into the Finlay household. Generous, kind, and compassionate, it was not in Charlotte's nature to turn any living creature away.

As a wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend, Charlotte dedicated herself to making life better for other people. She volunteered for many years for Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, New Jersey and for the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, New Jersey, where she was still volunteering even into her 70s. In her 40-year career as a nurse, Charlotte worked in the Emergency Room at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia where she co-founded the outpatient one-day surgery unit. Charlotte also worked as a Case Manager for Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey. In addition, she pursued her Master's Degree in Nursing at Immaculata University in Philadelphia. Charlotte felt that it was a privilege to care for the sick, and she came to feel that she could best serve her patients and their families by being a home health care provider. With her gentle soul, her giving and generous spirit, her kindness, humor, and tenderness, Charlotte's vocation was to bring love and light into her patients' homes and hearts. This she did for many years, enriching the lives of countless people, until she retired in 2015.

Charlotte was strong in spirit, buoyed by her faith, her humor, and her impossibly big and loving heart, which helped her through dark times and enabled her to be a light for others in their times of darkness. We were blessed to have known her, and are grateful for the love she gave us.

Charlotte is survived by her loving husband, Dennis Bradley Finlay of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; devoted son, Dennis Patrick Finlay of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; cherished daughters, Maire Conicella (Francis) of Landisville, Pennsylvania, and Kayla Marie Klaitz-Finlay of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and treasured grandchildren, Liam, Isabelle, and Francesca Conicella, of Landisville, Pennsylvania. She also leaves behind her brother, Charles McKernan Wood, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and sister, Rosemary DyReyes (Dr. Roberto) of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, along with many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins. Charlotte was preceded in death by her beloved daughter, Colleen Patricia Finlay, and her great nephew, Julian DyReyes-Kapp.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, January 21, 2021, 11:00 AM, at Christ the King Church, 200 Windsor Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ 08033. Private interment will be held in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill, NJ. For those unable to attend, the mass will be live-streamed on the website of Christ the King Church ( https://ctkhaddonfield.org/live-stream ).

In lieu of flowers, donations in Charlotte's memory may be made to the
American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org).