Thomas Curran Sr.
POULSBO, Wash. – Born Nov. 30, 1929, in Rockford, to John Lewis Curran and Emily Irene McCarthy, Thomas Francis Curran Sr. died Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, at his Poulsbo, Wash., home. Arrangements were completed by Lewis Funeral Chapel, Bremerton, Wash.
Tom retired from his distinguished career with the Federal Aviation Administration as chief of propulsion in 1985. He continued to work for many years as a private consultant in the aviation industry. A 25-year resident of Bellevue, Wash., he and Pat eventually moved to their beautiful Poulsbo home overlooking Port Orchard Passage.
Tom will be dearly missed by his loving wife of 56 years, Patricia (née Kerst); his children, Colleen Curran Bright, Col. Thomas F. Curran Jr. (Donna), Emily Curran (Clay Knowles), and Molly Curran (Robert Phillips); his grandchildren, Leah Bright, Ian, Patrick, and Conor Curran, and Stella and Linus Phillips; and his devoted dogs, Jocko and Pepper, who are still waiting for him by the front door.
Tom was a sweet, soft-spoken gentleman, the likes of whom are so rare these days. He had an extraordinary sense of humor and a deep appreciation of life’s simplest joys.
He was a one-of-a-kind who adored his family, and the pain of his absence is immeasurable.
“Eat the elephant one bite at a time,” he always said, and we always will.
