Peter Matthew Finnegan

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of former employee Peter Matthew Finnegan on April 19, 2024, after a long battle with lung cancer.  He was 63.

Peter was born in Newport, RI, on September 12, 1960. He relocated to Falmouth in the late 1970s and graduated from Falmouth High School, Class of 1978.

He began his career at WHOI in 1982 as a dock worker working on the overhaul and conversion of the R/V Atlantis II. He left in 1987. Later, he worked at MacDougall’s Cape Cod Marine Service as a marine mechanic for many years before establishing his own business, PMF Diesel Marine. Peter was known for his exceptional skills as a diesel mechanic; his talent for keeping things running smoothly was truly his passion.

Although he considered himself a “New Yorker,” Peter cherished the joys of Cape Cod, including boating, fishing, and shell fishing. His greatest hobby was tinkering with his 1968 RS SS Camaro with the distinctive hideaway headlights — the very first car he purchased as a young man!

Peter is survived by his mother, Frances Prasso, of Falmouth, MA; his father Richard Finnegan, and stepmother Linda of Amityville, NY; two brothers and their children: Richard Finnegan from Buzzards Bay, MA, along with Jamie, Michael, and Richard, and James Finnegan from North Falmouth, MA, along with Jessica and Andrew. He is also survived by many cousins and their families. Peter will be deeply missed by many.

A memorial gathering will be held at Chapman Funerals & Cremations, 475 Main Street, Falmouth on Saturday, May 18 from 2-4 p.m.

Gifts may be made in the memory of Peter to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168 Boston, MA, 02284 or to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: MSPCA-Angell Headquarters, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130

Information for this obituary is from the Chapman Funerals & Cremations website