Martin Fineran

Martin Edward Fineran was born July 28, 1955 in Rapid City, South Dakota to Dale Fineran and Anne (Around Him) Fineran. Marty was 65 years old when he passed December 21, 2020 at Parker Adventist Hospital after complications from surgery.

Marty was a graduate from Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He went onto join the Airforce where he worked as a weapons technician and where he became a Sergeant. He was Honorably Discharged after four years from the Airforce. He then became a lead test operator at Honeywell. Marty moved onto work at Ford Micro Electronics in Colorado Springs, Colorado when he met the love of his life, Vicki Rey Morris, whom he married May 24, 1991 at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. He and his two girls, Sheena and Mallorie, lived part time with Marty at 4255 Cutting Horse Place in Colorado Springs. Marty and Vicki had three beautiful daughters together Skye, Autumn, and Aureóle that are of Native American decent.

Marty was a quiet, thoughtful, and cautious man. Those who knew him admired his humble approach to everything and were impressed with his perseverance and integrity. He earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree at Sienna Heights University in Michigan while he worked at Visteon’s Home office in Dearborn, Michigan. He achieved his degree at the ripe old age of 49. He and his family then moved back to Colorado. It is there he began working at the Department of Defense, where he enjoyed his team. Some of his notable achievements included working on the GOES-R Satellite, working with NASA, and then later working on the Army’s satellite program. He so admired his team at the Department of Defense. He lived in Castle Rock, Colorado until the tragic end to his young life.

Being a Native son of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota, he had insight and experience that expressed itself in all his later accomplishments. He had many talents and expertise that were developed early in his life. He loved all of his girls dearly and did everything he could to encourage and support their talents and their pursuits in life. Marty was creative and resourceful in all aspects of his life, which included his ability to fix just about anything. If he didn’t know how to fix something, he would research it until he could. He was also an athlete, focusing on running and cycling. He was a cross country runner in Highschool and cycled in the Elephant Rock 100-mile event in Castle Rock, Colorado later in life. His hero was a 1964 Native American Olympian runner named Billy Mills, who he looked up to since his childhood.

Marty was a man of many talents and hobbies. Art, music, and cooking were Marty’s greatest creative hobbies, along with analyzing and enjoying movies. Musically, he was a saxophone player in Harrison High School’s stage band and was also a beautiful classical guitarist, passing down his talent and abilities to his children. Marty loved, loved, loved music of all kinds. Marty was also a self-taught artist. He worked on not only beautiful native bead work, but became quite a professional water colorist and portrait artist. The pinacol of his art career was in 1996 when he won Best in Show at the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs. He was chosen to be published in the book, “Best of Portrait Art”. Speaking to his enjoyment of movies, he often bonded with his family through movie time weekly, where he would love discussing all aspects of cinematography and storytelling. He loved all genres, ranging from westerns to sci-fi to Downton Abbey.

One of his greatest enjoyments overall was cooking and baking. He was an avid gourmet. He made all of his girls intricate birthday cakes every year and loved every minute of it. He was such a great gourmet cook and was always trying new techniques and plates, which made our Holiday events fantastic. He especially enjoyed talking shop with his mother-in-law, Estella Morris, over the details of favorite recipes. Vicki learned early to hang up her “vat cooking with Vicki” style and push over in the kitchen to a more refined cuisine. His cooking is one of the many things that will be sorely missed in the Fineran Household.

One more notable hobby we’d like to mention was his interest in genealogy. Marty became quite the genealogist after he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where he was also a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. He spent a lot of his time researching his ancestors, especially focusing on his Native Ancestry. He was fascinated to find his Great Grandfather, Pete Ironcloud, was one of the six Chiefs on the Buffalo Bill Cody show. He was captivated in learning about those who came before him and found a great respect for them.

He is survived by his wife, Vicki Fineran, his five daughters; Sheena Brown, Mallorie Benjamin and her spouse Marcus Benjamin, Skye Fineran, Autumn Fineran, Aureóle Fineran; and his three brothers, Marlin, Myron, and Milton Fineran.

He is also survived by 4 grandchildren; Aubrey Brown, Maliyah Benjamin, Coraline Brown, and Malaysia Benjamin; and his father-in-law, Tom Morris, and his sister in law, Linda Willard, as well as many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Marty was proceeded in death by his father, Dale Fineran, his mother, Anne (Around Him) Fineran, and sister, Terrial Fineran.

The Funeral for Marty will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 959 S. Plum Creek Blvd, Castle Rock, Colorado.

Because of Covid-19 concerns, the funeral will be on Zoom on February 12, 2021 at 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/4851332657 passcode: 032757

There will be a graveside service with military honors at 2:00 in the afternoon mountain standard time at Fort Logan National Cemetery. This will be a family event as there are strict regulations on guests.

The funeral will be recorded and placed on Facebook for viewing for those with time and distant constraints.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Horan & McConaty funeral home of Centennial, Colorado, with Alice Wheeler, our dearest consultant.

Any donations should be sent to Marty’s favorite organization, Lakota’s Children Enrichment. To send donations in Marty’s memory, please visit: https://lakotachildren.org/donate/

A GoFundMe has also been set up for donations to Marty’s children’s college fund: https: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-martin-finerans-surviving-childrens-college