Celebration of life held for our beloved colleague Elise Finch
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- A celebration of life was held Tuesday morning for a beloved member of our CBS family, Elise Finch.
Family, loved ones, coworkers and fans gathered to not only say goodbye but reflect on beautiful memories many now hold close to their hearts.
"She left light. She will always shine, her spirit will always live," family friend Joyce Fairey said.
"I met her in 2019 at a luncheon in Sleepy Hollow... I took a picture with her," Mount Vernon resident Sandra Trimmings said. "I hope she'll be remembered as caring, nice, warm, beautiful smile."
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Elise was born in Mount Vernon and graduated from Mount Vernon High School. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University and a Master of Science in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University.
Close family friend Lia Johnson shared Elise was bright from the very beginning.
"She was always well spoken, very mature, very graceful and deliberate in everything that she did," said Johnson.
"Elise was well known in Mount Vernon. I watched her every morning, every morning," resident Francis Brown said.
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Loved ones are proud of the path she carved for others.
"She's got people now -- young brown and Black girls -- that now look to become a meteorologist, science," said family friend Michael Johnson. "She's different and she made a difference with that. So we're really proud of her."
She spent 16 years at CBS New York and it's where she met her husband, photographer Graig Henriques. The pair married in the summer of 2013 and share their beautiful daughter, Grace.
Those celebrating the 51-year-old Tuesday at the Macedonia Baptist Church say they will keep her memory alive and always remember Elise for her beautiful heart.
"To see so many people coming out and celebrating her life and her legacy, it just shows us that what's important in life is not the beginning or your end, it's really your dash -- what's in between, what you do and how many people you inspire in your reach," Lia Johnson said.
"She was a life well lived, well loved and well adored and will be sorely missed -- most of all, that beautiful smile," said Mount Vernon resident Brenda Miles.
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There was music Elise loved to stir the soul, and there were tributes to touch the heart.
"She would always be the first person on Ticketmaster buying tickets to see Janet Jackson for the 17th time, and more often than not, she was jamming in the audience by herself," said Elise's niece Amira Robert.
"She made an impact and a difference wherever she went, and the evidence is all around us today," family friend Dr. Leslie Copeland said.
"Her love of music, her love of arts, her love of culture, her love of people, her love of service, where she just gave back. I'm just so proud how she used her platform to continue to lift up Mount Vernon," Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said.
Elise moved in many circles and touched many lives -- from her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, to the National Association of Black Journalists.
"Elise was the one who made it. Elise was the one who figured out how to manage being a journalist, how to build a family, how to be a mother, and how to be a good steward in society," longtime friend Jala Anderson-Moore said.
Elise was a star at CBS2. Her forecasts were delivered with care and authority. She was so much fun to be around. Many colleagues cherished her as a close friend.
"She literally, literally could do anything. Anything. Public speaking, being a reporter, being a forecaster, being a friend. And I was in awe," CBS New York's Dave Carlin said.
"The same words keep coming up to describe Elise -- genuine, beautiful, calm, gentle, a pro, funny, talented, passionate, direct and honest. A real New Yorker to the core," CBS New York's Maurice DuBois said.
Front and center in Elise's life was her family: her dad, Jimmy, an entrepreneur and public servant; her mom, Cherlette, an educator; her sister, Kiya, also an educator, and her husband, Graig, the perfect behind-the-scenes complement to Elise's on-camera essence.
"When she needed to find a partner in life, her one true love, it had to be someone so special, it had to be someone way up here where she was. And as luck would have it, that guy was in the newsroom," Carlin said.
Their daughter, Grace, so much like her mom, will find no shortage of role models in Elise's large circle of accomplished women.
"We will be pouring into her love and stories of her mother. And I ask, beloved, that you do the same," said Jasmine Bellamy, Grace's godmother.
"Please know this -- that your mom's friends and colleagues will always be here for you to support you however we can, in whatever ways we can. It's just what families do," DuBois said.
Our unforgettable Elise Finch. The song of her life deserved so many more verses.
Donations to Grace Henriques' college fund can be made by going to www.ugift529.com and entering this code: T8V-47W
