James Finley Ransone

James Finley Ransone, Jr., 72, of Phoenix, died of cancer on Wednesday January 29, 2020 at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson.  He was born in Baltimore and was the son of the late James F. Ransone Sr. and Mary Patricia Daniels Ransone.

Finley was raised in Towson and graduated from Calvert Hall College in 1967.  After graduating, he enlisted in the Army during the War in Vietnam and became a member of the Special Forces.  While in Vietnam, Finley served with Mike Force from 1969-1970 and he was awarded 2 Purple Hearts and 4 Bronze Stars for his gallantry as well as the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.  As a result of his service, he was a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

In 1971, Finley married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Lee Peterson.  He studied land surveying at Catonsville Community College and became a licensed surveyor.  Since 1978, he has owned his own business, now known as A2 Geomatics.  In 1979 he and his wife moved to the Sunnybrook Community in Phoenix, where he resided until his death.
Besides owning his own business, Finley taught land surveying as an adjunct professor at Catonsville Community College for 17 years. For the last few years, because he had such fond memories of his time at Calvert Hall College, he became a frequent guest lecturer at the school on topics such as military strategy and the Vietnam War. Also, he was an avid golfer who enjoyed playing at Pine Ridge Golf Course in Timonium.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Roger P. Ransone in 2001.
Along with his wife, he is survived by his son, James F. “PJ” Ransone III and his wife Jamie McPhee and his grandson John Finley “Jack” Ransone all of Los Angeles and his son David W. Ransone and his wife Anne Freeman, of Pacific Palisades, CA.  He is also survived by his brother, David E. Ransone of Towson and his sister, Sharon A. Sause of Abingdon; 3 nieces and 5 nephews, Tara Sabol of Londonderry, VT, Heidi West of Bend, OR, Thomas Booth Jr. and Michael Booth both of Catonsville, Daniel Sause, of Baltimore, Jenifer Sause of Abingdon and Joseph Ransone and William Ransone, of Selbyville, DE as well as several great nieces and nephews."

In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to one of the charities listed below