Finley was born in 1945 in La Grande, Oregon. In 1964, he graduated from DeSales Catholic High School in Walla Walla, Washington. After graduation, Finley enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He received an honorable discharge in 1968 as a petty officer second class. Finley says that he "put in four years in the Navy without serving even one day aboard ship; it was all shore duty."
After the Navy, Finley entered the Brothers of the Holy Cross three-month candidacy program, then located at Saint. Francis High School in Mountain View, California, During this time, Finley also attended Santa Clara University as an English major. In January 1969, Flnley completed the Holy Cross Brothers' novitiate in Valatie, New York. The community then sent him to St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, for one semester.
Finley returned to the Brothers' community at St. Francis High School, where he re-enrolled at Santa Clara as a religious studies major. In November 1972, he left the Holy Cross Brothers. In May 1973, Finley graduated from Santa Clara, earning a Bachelor of Religious Studies degree
On March 9, 1974. Finley and Kathleen Hickey were married. The wedding took place in the student chapel of Gonzaga University, Kathleen Hickey's alma mater. In 1976, he earned an Master of Theology degree from Marquette University . The couple has three sons. [2]
