Finny's Eulogy
Hello. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Gene Forrester. I was Phineas’ roommate and best friend. We are here today to pay tribute to and celebrate Finny’s remarkable life. Truth be told, writing this speech was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. It wasn’t challenging because I knew too little about Finny to share, but because I knew too much. I knew Phineas better than anyone else; we were constant companions. We were two parts of one whole and the more I got to know Finny the more proud I became to be his friend. He was talented, virtuous, joyful, and so much more. It is a tragedy that a person as young and precious as Finny has been taken so soon. Finny affected us all in ways we can’t even imagine. One thing Finny was known for was his extraordinary natural talent. At Devon he dominated in every sport and game. His strength, agility, grace, and fluidity showed in any physical activity he participated in. Over the summer, Finny longed for an entertaining game to play. He picked up a medicine ball and declared we would be playing a new game about the war, “blitzball”. Although the game was extremely in favor of the defenders, Phineas managed to defeat the odds of the game of his own creation. I remember watching in amazement as Finny’s abilities shone. It was not just his amazing skill that made him a victor, it was also his winning spirit. Phineas showed unmeasured sportsmanship when playing with others; he even got a few awards for it. But the countless awards don’t encompass Finny’s love for sports. He was the embodiment of a champion. Another thing unique to Phineas was his purity. It was once said that, “The truly innocent are those who not only are guiltless themselves, but who think others are.” Finny was not only sure of his own decency but of everyone else’s. He had the ability to see the good in everyone and everything. I admired Finny’s pureness to the point of envy because I realized I was not of the same quality as he. He was