Thomas John Finneran
A founding member of the Columbus Sea Nags

Thomas John Finneran, age 84, past away Saturday December 26, 2009. A retired Attorney. Born February 10, 1925 in Columbus, Ohio to Russell P. and Mary Irene (Hannegan) Finneran. Predeceased by parents and infant sister Rosalie. Survived by brother Russell D. Finneran; nephew Sean P. Finneran; nieces Ketti Irene Finneran and her husband Rick Brown and Erin Marie Finneran and her husband Alejandro Bernal - Navarro; grand nieces and nephews Riley Irene, Brendan Shea and Fiona Mor Finneran, Gabriel S. and Madison C. Brown and Alicia Isabel Bernal; and many other relatives and friends. In 1943 he joined the United States Marine Corp and served 3 1/2 years. He graduated from Holy Rosary Grade School in 1939, from St. Charles Preparatory School in 1943 and from The Ohio State University in 1954, being awarded his Bachelors Degree in Arts and Letters and his Doctor of Law Degree. At St. Charles he lettered in basketball and football. At OSU he lettered in wrestling. He continued to wrestle in the old YMCA league and was "Five State Champion" five consecutive years. This qualified him to try out for the 1956 Olympics in 1955 in California where he ended up twelfth in the country. Wrestling remained an important part of the rest of his life. He volunteered to assist in coaching at Columbus schools and at St. Charles. He practiced law with his father and brother in the firm of Finneran, Finneran and Finneran from 1955 to 1987. From December 8, 1987 until April 29, 1989 he continued to practice with his father at their residence. He then continued as a sole practitioner until retiring recently due to health reasons. He was one of sixteen founding members of the Franklin County Trial Lawyers Association. He was a founding member of the Columbus Sea Nags Scuba Club and at his death was the only remaining continuous founding member. He was a member of the Columbus Ski Club from its earliest years and a past historian of it. He actively participated in both water and snow sking, winning a number awards and also participated in its softball and other activities for several decades.

from the obituaries of The Dispatch

Date	Upcoming Events	Contact
June
3	Dave Trotter video, Cutting Across Time, @ Plank’s
5	Circleville Membership drive
July
1	General meeting, Titanic commitment, @ Plank’s, 8:00PM
2 – 8	Lake Wazee, WI dive trip – Marty, Steve and Dave
4-5	Buckeye Divers dive NC wrecks from Morehead City	BuckeyeDivers
3	Digital Underwater Photography Contest, info at	WhiteStar
17-19	Guinness Record Attempt, Gilboa Stone Quarry	Gilboa
August
7-9	Legends Festival, Portage Quarry; more info at	Portage
14	TBA Gear Swap and Corn Roast w Circleville, SeaNags, Land Sharks and Circleville night dive
19	Exec Meeting Marty’s house 7:30 PM
29	Titanic exhibit w dolphins & whales movie @COSI
September
2	Member dive stories from summer exploits—Rob, Marty & others; @Plank’s, 8:00PM
26	Underwater Treasure Hunt; info at	whitestarquarry
16	Exec meeting Rob’s house, 7:30PM
20	Put-In-Bay Annual Clean Up
October
7	7 Nominations@ Plank’s, 8:00PM
21	21 Exec meeting Jim’s house 7:30 PM
November
4	Elections/Membership Dues due Annual Banquet @ Mary Kelly’s - tentative
TBA	Shipwrecks & Scuba Banquet TB
December
2	TBA @Plank’s 8:00PM TBA Christmas Party, Marty’s house?

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Sea Nags are diving. Please contact Marty Bailey if you want to know when and where people are getting wet each weekend Yes, even in the winter.

An article from 5/26/2010

Congratulations go out to Dan, Andy, (James) And , and Ian. They completed their Open Water Diver certification last weekend. On Saturday we headed to Circleville and upon arriving we decided to dive the north quarry instead of the south quarry. We ended up having the north quarry all to our own the entire day. The decent lines have yet to be installed so I quickly put in one prior to our first dive (I used some rope and a plastic jug that I happened to have in my truck). Our first dive included doing skills on the bus then following the west slope to the boat. At which point we picked up the line to the police car and another boat on the slope of the mid line. We had to adjust our plan due to air consumption so after seeing the new red boat that was just put in last week, we began our return and headed back down the mid line, then west to the slope until we found the bus for our ascent point (20'/41min). Buoyancy was an issue on this dive as everyone was getting used to wearing wetsuits and 20lb+ weight belts.
For our second dive we started at the bus then headed east moving our ascent line to the truck cab, and then determined our turn around pressure. We swam through the buoyancy hoops and then along the east slope. We had hoped to find another boat that was recently sunk, but had to turn before we found it (20'/45min). Everyone's buoyancy was getting better.
On Sunday, we had a delayed start as Dan first decided that he wasn't ready to dive due to some intestinal problems, but after taking some medication and a phone call from us, he decided that he was ready to go (no pun intended). Our plan was to split into two dive teams. Dan and Andy B made the first dive into the trench. We maxed our depth at 51' and the dive lasted exactly 28 minutes as planned the day before. After following the line to the truck, platform, and the trench (vis 3') we ascended along the slope to the 17' contour and followed that back until we met the line from the wooden platform to the refrigerator. Then we headed to the truck for our ascent. As soon as Andy and Dan exited the water, Ian and Andy M entered and I repeated the same dive with them, although we new from the previous day's plan that they we going to have more time. So after we came to the refrigerator, we followed the line back to the platform and then to the boat. After circling the boat we returned to the truck for our ascent (51'/37mimn).
For our second dive we were one team with Andy M and Dan as buddies and Ian and Andy B as buddies. Andy M must have thought something was chasing him, by the pace he set. Normally it takes 22 minutes to swim to the airplane by way of the culvert. Well we got there in record time. 17minutes and that included an unintentional ascent followed by a crash into the mud and then the creation of a creator while the dive team dug their way out. I initially thought that in the process that Dan and Andy had gotten ahead of Ian and Andy, but when I swam ahead to find them I found clear water and knew instantly that my dive buddies were behind me. Just after crossing the short cut line I finally got ahead of Andy and slowed the entire dive team down. We circled the plane and then followed the 18' contour to the rowboat. We planned the dive for 46 minutes knowing that after 34 minutes Dan was going to go on my octopus, but Andy's pace was so fast Dan was low on air at the 25 minute mark. It was no problem sharing air and once we met up with the line back to the boat I figured everything was going to work as planned. We crossed over the tree an were heading to the boat when Andy B gave me the low on air sign, it was now time to improvise. We headed east to the slope and clearer water. Then finished our final skills and our CESA. We ascended with about a third of the quarry to swim, so we snorkeled into the shallows along the edge and swam back to our exit point (30'/40min). All in all we had a lot fun and four great dives. The guys agreed that once again the favorite dive was the dive where they saw the least and swam through the trench at a depth of 51', by the way the water temp at that level has risen to a balmy 45 F.

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Divers, Shipwrecks and Ohio Laws.