Graveside service for Nikki Fink is Saturday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. at St. Francis Cemetery on San Juan Island.
The service will be followed by a celebration of life, 4-6 p.m., at Rumor Mill. Bring a dish to pass, photos to share, and treasured memories of Nikki.
The 28-year-old woman died Oct. 17 at University of Washington Medical Center, from complications from cystic fibrosis.
Survivors include her five-year-old son, Xander Combs; mom and stepfather, Yvonne and Gary Bowman; dad and stepmother, Eric Fink and Lesa Johnson; sister and best friend and her partner, Loni Fink and Darren Jameson; stepbrother, Nick Johnson; Nikki’s life partner, Adam D’Errico; grandparents, Hortencia Lopez, Jody Jones, Raymond Fink, and Marian Bowman; and other loved family members in Texas and Michigan.
Nikki Ylon Fink was born March 14, 1982 in St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing, Mich. She lived in Williamston, Mich., and El Paso, Texas, and moved to San Juan Island when she was 7.
She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 18 months but, her mother and her aunt remembered, “Nothing kept her down … She always wanted to be active.” She wrote a school paper about cystic fibrosis in the sixth grade, graduated from Friday Harbor High School in 2000, sang with San Juan Singers, and raised money for cystic fibrosis research. She attended Western Washington University on a singing scholarship and worked for Maloula’s Salsa.
Family members said her signature characteristics were her laughter, sense of humor, and love of music and scary movies. Her son and her family were important to her.
“Nikki is an amazing young woman,” family friend Rosalee Webster wrote before the young woman died. “Like her mother, she has faced this disease fully aware of the prognosis. She has chosen to focus on the beauty of each new day, realizing it is a gift to be cherished.”
Donations are being accepted to help defray her medical expenses. An account has been set up at Islanders Bank. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to New Horizons Foundation, 4570 Hilton Parkway, Suite 203, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. Note on the memo line: Nikki Fink Medical Fund.
Yvonne Bowman has asked that flowers be sent either to Marian Bowman’s home, 650 Hunt St., or to The Rumor Mill on the day of the celebration. Memorial contributions can be sent to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, 2nd floor, Bethesda, MD 20814.
