PORT TOWNSEND — The man whose body was recovered from the waters of Boat Haven on Sunday morning was remembered Monday as a good friend and an essential part of the Port Townsend arts community.
Authorities identified the man as Richard B. Finn, who had lived intermittently in Port Townsend since the 1980s.
“He was great with kids and taught them a lot about music,” according to Jarrod Paul Bramson, who played with Finn as a teenager.
“He was a really sweet guy and a very caring person,” Bramson said.
Finn, 49, was residing on a friend’s 26-foot sailboat moored in the marina at the time of his death.
“He’s been a great friend for a long time,” said Port Townsend Film Festival Executive Director Janette Force.
During his time in Port Townsend, Finn worked as a candle dipper at Coyote Found Candles and as a salesman at Quimper Sound.
Port Townsend police Sunday morning received a 9-1-1 call, reporting that a body was floating in the water near the Linear Dock on the west end of the marina.
Finn was last seen alive at around 5 a.m., when a police officer stopped to check on him in front of West Marine, 2428 Washington St., near the Boat Haven, according to a news release from the Port Townsend Police Department.
Finn appeared to have been consuming alcohol, so the officer summoned a fire department ambulance for a medical evaluation.
No cause for medical concern was found at the time, so the officer and the aid crew escorted Finn to the sailboat boat.
The emergency personnel ensured that Finn was safely in the cabin of the boat before departing, police said.
An autopsy was performed Sunday, and the cause of death will be determined by the state medical examiner, they added.
Police have found no reason for residents to be alarmed for their own safety, the news release stated.
Finn’s body is at Kosec Funeral Home with no burial plans currently announced, according to Kosec owner Real Robles.
Neither Robles nor Force could provide any biographical or survivor information, although Force said that Finn was unmarried and had no children.
She said Finn’s sister is scheduled to attend a service from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday in Chetzemoka Park, where friends can gather and offer recollections about Finn and his life.
The event is a potluck, Force said.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
