Wanda Jane Finley Castner died at age 89 on Saturday, November 8, 2025, while a resident at Valley Terrace in White River Junction, Vt. Born on the family farm in Malta, Ohio, on a winter day in the midst of the Great Depression, Wanda was the eldest of the four children of Mildred Rogers Finley and Clarence Ronald Finley. Wanda majored in music and early childhood education at Ohio University. After graduation in 1958, she was an elementary school teacher in Beverly, Ohio, where she met and married the love of her life, Edward (Ned) W. Castner, the new pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Beverly.
Wanda learned a diligent work ethic growing up on the farm, taking care of gardens and animals, sewing, and cooking. She loved music, often playing the piano solo or with her family and singing in church choirs. As an adult, Wanda later lived in Plymouth, Mich.; Peekskill, N.Y.; Glenside, Pa.; Washington, D.C.; Ivoryton and Wallingford, Conn.; and finally in Vermont. In the 1970s, Wanda studied for a master’s degree in teaching from the College of New Rochelle, specializing in reading instruction. She taught at the St. Joseph’s School in Philadelphia, then in the Alexandria, Va., public schools. While being a homemaker and teacher, Wanda also had the unofficial role as the pastor’s wife and choir member at the churches in each town where she lived. She could be duly solemn when the occasion demanded but loved laughter with her family and friends.
Following retirement, Wanda did not stop working. She was a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a literacy volunteer for adult learners and a docent at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Conn. She traveled widely with her husband and family in North America, Europe and the Middle East and greatly enjoyed annual beach vacations with her family. She gamely learned to bicycle and ice-skate as an adult and loved to host family gatherings.
Wanda is survived by her sister Elinor Finley LaFollette of Marietta, Ohio; her two children, Edward W. Castner Jr. of South Royalton, Vt., and Andrea Louise Castner Wyatt of Newtown, Conn.; and their partners, Cathy Lawson and Chuck Wyatt. She is also survived by her four granddaughters, Elizabeth and Julia Castner, Emma Wyatt, and Molly Wyatt Rubio; their partners; and many relations from the Finley and Castner clans. Wanda was predeceased by her husband, Ned Castner, and her siblings Janet Finley Stone and David Finley.
A celebration of Wanda’s life will be held by the family on Friday, November 28, 2025, in the Boston area. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to Habitat for Humanity. The family wishes to thank the caregivers and staff at Valley Terrace and Bayada Hospice for their loving kindness and for making Wanda’s final years happy and comfortable.
This article appears in Nov 19-25 2025.