George Alexander Curry
Family man, veteran, tinkerer, storyteller. Born on Oct. 11, 1918, in Toronto; died on Feb. 15, 2015, in Toronto, of natural causes, aged 96.
George Curry and his three brothers grew up during the Great Depression in the home their father built on Ashworth Avenue in Toronto, where they enjoyed a life of almost unrestricted freedom. "Our parents rarely interfered. We were free to amuse ourselves – and we did," recalls his older brother, Les, now 98.
"We played baseball games at Eaton's warehouse grounds on Christie Street ... and would watch movies at Christie Street Veterans' Hospital, where we would pretend to be family members to gain entry," Les remembers. "We weren't even aware there was a Depression. Life was carefree and unscheduled."
When George was teenager, he fell in love with motorized vehicles. He made his first "car" by adapting a contraption used at amusement parks; it looked like a garden gate with four wheels and he added a motor-driven fifth wheel for propulsion. One winter day, his leg was crushed while helping to push a car on a snowy street; thanks to the insurance money, he was able to buy a beautiful motorcycle, a 500cc, four-cylinder Ariel Square Four. He was hooked on cars and motorcycles ever after.
In 1939, he married Violet Parrington, who also lived on Ashworth Avenue; one year later, they had their first son, Robert. And two years after that, in 1942, the four Curry brothers enlisted in the Second World War: Les and George joined the Royal Canadian Air Force while their younger brothers David and Robbie went to the army and navy, respectively. George was stationed in Halifax as a wireless instructor, Les was sent to Vancouver Island as a radar technician, and their younger brothers served overseas.
At war's end, the Curry brothers returned home and George resumed his life with Violet. In 1945, they welcomed son James, followed by daughter Susan in 1951. George also returned to work at Square D, an electrical supply company where he put his wireless training to use. He worked there for 50 years, retiring as senior engineering technician.
George was a tinkerer who relished fixing and inventing things. He would resole and spray paint his shoes (to make them "new again"), craft paint brushes out of pine needles, and even devised a home hot-water heater. Once he drove his T-bird onto a rock in front of the family cottage on Gullwing Lake in Muskoka, Ont., so he could get under it to change the exhaust system.
George loved a good joke or story (he would greet you with a laugh, saying, "Did I tell you about …?") and enjoyed playing pranks. One day when son Bob was a teenager, he went home to fetch his hidden cigarettes. When he opened the package, he found the Player's brand of cigarettes cut into tiny pieces and a note from his father: "Players Fine Cut. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
After Violet died in 1983, George stayed in their home in Weston, Ont., savouring life. For 60 years, he enjoyed spending time at the cottage, sharing many laughs with friends and family, which grew to include four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Years ago, the deck of that cottage would shake as everyone danced the twist and the mashed potato.
Last summer, during a family celebration of the 53rd wedding anniversary of Bob and his wife Diana, George raised his glass, laughed, and said, "Gee, I guess I'm the reason we're all here." He was, and he is sadly missed by all his family and friends.
Laurie Copithorne is George's granddaughter; Leslie Curry is his older brother.