Van Horn Class of 1962 - Felicity Finnell

Year	1962
Name	Felicity Finnell
Yearbook	Felicity Finnell
Status	Deceased - 2/27/2022 Colorado Springs, CO
Bio	Hajjar, Felicity Anthea (Finnell) Hajjar December 25, 1944 - February 27, 2022 Felicity Anthea Finnell Hajjar, 77, passed away at home on Sunday, February 27, after a lengthy illness. She was surrounded by loving family in her last days and hours. Felicity was born on December 25, 1944, in Marlborough, England to American serviceman Roy Joe Finnell and his English war bride June King-Hall. After the war the family moved to Independence, Missouri, where Felicity was raised. She graduated from Van Horn High School in 1962 and from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1966 with a degree in English Literature. While at university she met a dashing foreign PhD student, Sami G. Hajjar, and the two were married in 1965. In 1966 the family headed west to Laramie, Wyoming, where Sami took a teaching position at the University of Wyoming. When their three children were all in school, Felicity started a part time job at the Albany County Public Library. This job grew into a fulfilling, lifelong career. She worked as a cataloger at the University of Wyoming Coe Library, as a cataloger and assistant director at the Bosler Free Library in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and retired as Technical Services Director at the Cumberland County Library System in Pennsylvania. In 1994 Felicity completed a Master of Library Science degree at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Sami entered the US Foreign Service in 1987 and this change in career took them to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. During these exciting years Felicity continued her career as a librarian, at the US Embassy library in Riyadh and the library of the Abu Dhabi Women's College. As a confirmed Anglophile, one of the highlights from this time was giving Margaret Thatcher a tour of the latter. In 1991 Sami and Felicity returned stateside to Falls Church, Virginia, and then on to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they lived for the next twenty years. After retirement, Sami and Felicity moved to Colorado Springs in 2015 to be closer to their son and grandchildren. Felicity lived up to her name and brought happiness to her family and friends. In every place she lived Felicity formed deep and lasting friendships. She delighted in thoughtful surprises—yarn bombing a neighbor's lamppost, hanging a May Day basket at a friend's door, planting tulips at a daughter's house. Her favorite pastimes were reading, gardening, knitting, and baking. A lifelong Episcopalian, she was active in church choirs from childhood. She was rarely without feline companions, most recently her beloved rescues Oliver and Rusty. Felicity is survived by Sami George Hajjar, her husband of 57 years; daughters Tania Hajjar (Chris Tarman) of Colorado Springs and Anthea Hajjar (J.D. Fournier) of Flagstaff, Arizona; and son George Hajjar (Carmen) of Colorado Springs. She is also survived by grandsons Sami Fournier, William Hajjar, and Andrew Hajjar, as well as sister Antoinette Tackkett of Woodstown, New Jersey; and brother David Finnell (Marcie) of Charlottesville, Virginia. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 on Thursday, March 3 at Grace and St. Stephen's Church, 601 North Tejon Street in Colorado Springs. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the choir fund at Grace and St. Stephen's Church or to the Humane Society of the United States. Published by The Gazette on Mar. 2, 2022.