Mary Finn-Williams | Dietitian, inventor, 76

Mary Finn-Williams, 76, of Haddonfield, a dietitian and inventor, died of cancer Wednesday at her daughter's home in Cherry Hill.

Mrs. Finn-Williams was an excellent seamstress who could recreate dresses she saw on fashion runways and in stores. To make the process easier, her daughter, Tracy Redmond said, she invented a notepad printed with silhouettes and spaces for information about fabrics.

In 1972, Mrs. Finn-Williams copyrighted the pad as "Sketch a Dress," and saw it featured in Good Housekeeping magazine. She didn't get rich, her daughter said, but she did have the opportunity to travel on promotional speaking engagements, including one to Monte Carlo.

For more than a decade, until her retirement several years ago, Mrs. Finn-Williams was a dietitian at the Vineland Developmental Center. Previously, she had been a dietitian for the Head Start program in Camden County, was in marketing for a food company in South Jersey, and had a consulting service.

Mrs. Finn-Williams graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School and earned a bachelor's degree in food and nutrition from College of St. Elizabeth in Morris, N.J. She completed a dietetic internship at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.

In 1958, she married Richard T. Williams, who grew up on Mrs. Finn-Williams' block in Haddonfield. He died in 2005.

Mrs. Finn-Williams enjoyed Jazzercise, ballroom dancing, and her grandchildren. She was active with a seniors' computer club and, in March, she traveled to New Orleans to assist Katrina victims.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by sons Hunter and Bartley; a brother; and six grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. today at Christ the King Church, Wood Lane and Hopkins Avenue, Haddonfield. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. in Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown, N.J.