On Oct. 22, Lincoln-Way West senior guard Molly Finn, her mother, Jenn, and Molly’s aunt, Allison, headed to a tattoo parlor in Mokena.
The trio each received tattoos of a Finn signature near their right wrists. Allison honored her late husband, Kevin, with his signature. Molly and Jenn had their wrists tattooed in honor of Bill, Molly’s father and Jenn’s husband.
Bill, a legendary basketball coach, found out during a family vacation in August to Arizona that he has Alzheimer’s disease. He has been huge in Molly’s athletic career, and she was willing to endure a little pain to honor him.
“We wanted to do something sentimental and memorable,” Molly said. “It was more my mom’s idea. But I was on board with it because I thought it was super cool to have my dad’s handwriting on me forever.
“It will bring back a lot of memories for me. He’ll always be there.”
Bill, 67, is a Hall of Fame coach who won more than 500 games at Moraine Valley in 22 seasons. With the exception of some forgetfulness, he said he’s fine and will continue to serve as an assistant coach for the Warriors in boys basketball.
On that October day, he wasn’t expecting to see his wife and daughter coming through the door sporting tattoos.
“It was a surprise, unbeknownst to me,” he said. “It came out of nowhere. They came into the house with their sleeves rolled up. We’re not a tattoo family, but it was pretty cool.
“Coaching basketball, I’ve seen my share of tattoos on my players but not on my family.”
Molly confirmed that she and her mother were upset when they received Bill’s diagnosis. They knew things were off, however, leading up to Bill’s trip to the doctor.
“He can remember every player’s name that he has coached,” Molly said of Bill. “He knows their names and everything about them. But sometimes when we are talking, he asks a question and two minutes later asks the same question.”
Bill was patient with Molly as she developed into a top basketball player and Division I softball player who is committed to Valparaiso. Now, it’s her turn for patience.
“Obviously, I don’t get annoyed with him when he’s asking questions over and over,” she said. “We will write out stuff so he remembers. I want to spend as much quality time as I can with him now.”
The girls basketball season opens Monday, and Bill said he can’t wait to watch Molly and the rest of the Warriors in action — not only on the court but on the softball field.
“Molly is making us proud,” Bill said.
Lincoln-Way West coach Ryan White knows there’s a lot of heavy baggage the Finn family has been carrying.
“She’s very mature,” White said of Molly. “They are a basketball family, so I feel like basketball is going to bring them together. It’s something they can unite over.
“I think that Molly and her mom and dad are excited for this basketball season. They are looking forward to it, and I hope it will be a positive thing for all of them.”
Bill, meanwhile, is staying positive.
“It is what it is,” he said. “There is no cure. There is some medicine that can slow it down. But it makes me feel so (lousy) that I’m not sure how long I can take it.
“I’m feeling good and things are fine, but both of them (Jenn and Molly) don’t know what the future holds, so they did a little tribute to myself.”
And Molly could end up having the last laugh.
“He thinks it’s funny,” Molly said of Bill. “He said because the tattoo is there, I’ll shoot better.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
