The Story of LaVoy Finicum | Part 1: A House Full of Kids
LaVoy started to have a growing concern about the political direction of the country that began to take hold.
Sitting with Jeanette Finicum, the conversation began with the man LaVoy was before the world came to know his name.
He always wanted to be a rancher, she tells us. His life was anchored by a simple hierarchy: God first, family, and then country. For the most part, politics didn't factor into their daily reality. They were simply too busy.
With twelve children, their house stayed packed. It was a beautifully blended home of "yours, mine, ours, and theirs." While four of the kids lived with their mother and spent summers, Christmases, and holidays at the ranch, LaVoy and Jeanette also opened their doors to four or five foster children year-round.
Jeanette describes a life dictated by the relentless rhythm of sports, family activities, and early morning devotion. There wasn't time to watch the news or worry about global affairs when your days were filled with a rigorous daily life or spent sitting in the stands, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while watching the kids practice football, basketball, volleyball, track, and wrestling.
It was only during the latter part of the last ten years of their marriage that things began to shift. LaVoy started to have a growing concern about the political direction of the country that began to take hold.
But before the politics, Jeanette makes it clear: their life was defined entirely by the energy of sports, faith, and the family they were raising together.
That was their life.
A very special Happy Birthday to Jeanette Finicum today. This photograph was taken at her home on the day we spoke, and it feels only fitting to honor her by releasing the beginning of this story of LaVoy today.
— Jeanette Finicum with Vincent Easley II and Ron Miller on June 4, 2026, at her home in Cane Beds, Arizona.
Note: This article is the first installment of an ongoing, multi-part series drawn from an intensive conversation with Jeanette Finicum. The discussion will be released in sequential pieces over the coming weeks as we preserve and share the full account of her story.