Sherwood Hayes Kingsmill Finley II

PINE PLAINS — Sherwood Hayes Kingsmill Finley II, 63, of Asheville, N.C., died Jan. 14, 2010, in Asheville of cancer.

He was born in New York City in 1946, the older son of the late Gardner and Patricia Finley.  In 1995, he married Paula Gertler, who survives at home. He was devoted to his wife and called their relationship “my greatest accomplishment.â€

Sherwood grew up in Bolton on Lake George, N.Y., graduated from Glens Falls High School, and attended Ithaca College and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. His career as a professional trumpet player progressed from Troy, N.Y., and Boston to New York City, where he recorded with jazz greats Hank Jones, Remo Palmier, Jule Ruggiero and Mel Lewis on his solo trumpet album, “Sunshower.†He was one of the few certified teachers of the Schillinger System of musical composition, and he also did world-class work in the fields of remote viewing and healing.

 Sherwood and Paula spent 13 years abroad, traveling in India, Sri Lanka and England before returning to the United States in 2009. A man of true kindness and spirituality, Sherwood helped thousands of people in the U.S. and abroad throughout his life, often anonymously.

Assisted by Paula, he did healing work at the pain clinic they started at the Van Allen Hospital in Kodaikanal, India, teaching general practitioners, surgeons and neurosurgeons as well as laymen.  Doctors referred their most difficult cases to him.  He studied and employed about 20 healing systems, and also mastered and taught the ancient art of chi kung, nei dan-style.

Sherwood and Paula’s work was featured in The Times of India plus five other major newspapers and several magazines. While abroad, they wrote columns for The Economic Times on healing, meditation and cross-cultural studies.

A devoted friend, Sherwood was always generous with his time and talents. A man of brilliant intelligence and abilities, he always used his skills to help and uplift others.

His wisdom lay in the art of living; he was a man who always had the courage to follow his dreams. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.â€

In addition to his wife, Sherwood is survived by his brother, Matt Finley, and sister-in-law, Denise (Jordan) Finley of Pine Plains; a nephew, Jordan Finley, and nieces Julia and Susan Finley, all of Sherman Oaks, Calif.; and his friend and former wife, Jeanne (Landing) Finley, of Albany, N.Y.

Services will be private, at the request of the family. To sign the online register, go to peckandpeck.net.