Olaf Fink
| Olaf James Fink | |
Louisiana State Senator for
Algiers (15th Ward of New Orleans) | |
| In office 1956–1972 | |
| Succeeded by | Orleans Parih delegation dropped from eight to seven members |
|---|---|
| Born | March 15, 1914 New Orleans, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | March 26, 1973 (aged 59) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Westlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Gretna in Jefferson Parish |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Jean Smith Fink |
| Children | No children |
| Residence | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | S. J. Peters Boys High School of Commerce Spring Hill College |
| Occupation | Educator and politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Navy Reserve |
Olaf James Fink (March 15, 1914 – March 26, 1973) was an educator and a politician from New Orleans, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic state senator from 1956 to 1972.[1]
Biography
Born in Algiers, the 15th Ward of New Orleans, Fink was the eldest of six children of Charles Peter Fink and the former Mary Caroline Lind. He resided at the age of twenty-six with his parents at 245 Vallette Street in New Orleans. He was listed in the 1940 U.S. Census as a "commercial teacher" who had at the time left college after three years.[2]
Fink was educated at John McDonogh Public School No. 4 and the S. J. Peters Boys High School of Commerce in New Orleans. He then attended the private Roman Catholic Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. He obtained a master's degree from Loyola University New Orleans. He taught at Nicholls and Peters high schools, but the majority of his career was at Behrman High School, named for Martin Behrman, the longest-serving mayor of New Orleans. Prior to his retirement in May 1972, both in teaching for thirty-three years and in the state Senate for sixteen years, Fink was a member of the faculty at Edna Karr Junior High School. He also was for a time the secretary of the influential Orleans Levee Board. He sponsored the Olaf Fink Golf Tournament for Teenagers at Brechtel Park in Algiers. He was heavily committed to improving the lot of the mentally retarded.[3] An officer of the United States Navy Reserve,[4] he was a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was also affiliated with Lions International, and the Choctaw Carnival Club, a participant in Mardi Gras.[3][5]
Fink died in New Orleans at the age of fifty-eight in the early spring of 1973, less than a year after his retirement. He is interred at Westlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Gretna in suburban Jefferson Parish.[6] He was married to the former Doris Jean Smith (1919-2008), who in 1959 was listed as an office secretary in New Orleans. She died in Montpelier in Williams County in northwestern Ohio. The couple had no children.[7]
In May 1974, the Orleans Parish School Board renamed the special education center at 1300 Richland Road on the West Bank of New Orleans the Olaf Fink Center for Pre-Vocational Education.[3] Along with other properties, the board sold the Fink Center in 2011.[8]
References
- ↑ Membership of the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024: Orleans Parish. Louisiana State Senate. Retrieved on December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Olaf Fink in the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. search.ancestry.com. Retrieved on JDecember 15, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fink, Olaf J.. Louisiana Historical Association: A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Retrieved on December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Olaf James Fink in Select Military Registers. search.ancestry.com. Retrieved on July 7, 2015.
- ↑ Olaf J. Fink obituary, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, March 27, 1973.
- ↑ Olaf James Fink. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on December 15, 2020.
- ↑ Doris Jean Smith Fink. search.ancestry.com. Retrieved on July 7, 2015.
- ↑ Martha Carr (February 1, 2011). Olaf Fink Center sold by School Board. The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved on July 7, 2015.
