Sunnie Finnen

On May 4th, our friend and beloved mother of Jackie Finnen Baggio, Chrissy Finnen, Joseph Finnen, and Sue Finnen and their children lost their mother and grandmother Sunnie Finnen. Sunnie Finnen was a great mother, friend and in some cases a mother to all of us.  It was no coincidence that she was named Sunnie. She was a bright light for all of us. Sunnie was a funny, intelligent, strong, and stubborn German. Sunnie experienced a lot of hardships and trauma throughout her life and persevered. That made her the strong woman she was. Sunnie was a fighter. She was born in Germany during WWII, immigrated to America when she was 10 years old to Hoboken, NJ. She was bullied, learned to speak English, and graduated at the top of her class. Sunnie lost her husband Joe, aka Captain Hook, when she was 45, during a time she was diagnosed with breast cancer of both breast and underwent a mastectomy to remove both breast all in the same week. She experienced multiple complications from those surgeries requiring additional surgeries and hospitalizations. She was left to care for her children on her own during these difficult times. Sunnie was no stranger to cancer. She beat three different cancers throughout her life. Somehow, she still managed to keep a smile on her face. She overcame those obstacles and also went on to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in her later years. 

Sunnie died unexpectedly in the hospital, alone, afraid, and in tremendous pain. She was supposed to go home the day after a surgery to fix two fractures in her spine. She was doing great and died in her hospital bed two days later. The fighter that she was she was revived once then lost to her battle on the way to ICU. The family was not given any answers as to how or why she died. The hospital is refusing to do an autopsy. Due to her pre-existing conditions, Sonia did not have a life insurance policy.

It is devastating enough to lose your mother during these unprecedented times. The family was unable to visit or console their mother, or advocate on their mother’s behalf. They are unable to grieve or hold a proper funeral at this time due to covid, let alone not know why she died. A private autopsy is very expensive and during these times family members are out of work and unable to afford an autopsy. It would give the family some piece of mind to know why she died.  In lieu of flowers I thought it would be a great way to help the family grieve if we can help provide them with answers by donating anything we can.  I know it is tough times with many of us out of work but as one big family we can achieve a lot more. Thank you for whatever you can contribute. I know the family would be extremely grateful.