John Curry (9 Sep 1933 - 8 Dec 2015)

John Curry died on 8th December 2015 in Worcester Royal Hospital after a short illness. He had had a rich and varied life. He was born to George and Betty in New Silksworth in 1933, a mining village close to Sunderland, and had quite a tough early upringing. But his intelligence gained him a place at the Robert Richardson Grammar School in Ryhope, and this led to him joining the RAF as a navigator before becoming an Air Traffic Controller, working first at Turnhouse (now Edinburgh) Airport and then at the Air Traffic College at Hurn.

In his mid-forties he changed his career sharply, joining the St Edmund's Arts Centre in Salisbury as Technical Manager, later becoming Deputy Director. Following his spell at St Edmund's he worked with Dataculture, an arts ticketing business he had helped to create, and the Wiltshire bakery business Reeves. After he retired, he moved to Malvern.

But his working history only tells a small part of the story. Music was a huge part of his life from his teens, when he was inspired by a music teacher, Denis Weatherley, at Ryhope Grammar. He sang in choirs for much of his life, including the Salisbury Festival Chorus, which took him to the Royal Festival Hall (singing Preisner's tribute to Kieslowski, Requiem for a Friend), and - through John Surman's Proverbs and Songs - to being a named artist on an ECM recording and appearing on the BBC's Mercury Music Prize recording, as well as singing at various jazz festivals. Theatre too, but always behind the scenes, especially behind a lighting desk.

He loved cooking and food, especially once he retired, making his own jams and chutneys from produce from the garden, baking bread, and even for a while producing his own sausages. He was an inveterate tinkerer, teaching himself electricals, computer programming, sound mixing, even book-keeping and accountancy, all to a high standard. He was always proud of his ability to complete the Observer's cryptic crossword, a part of his regular weekly ritual. He loved the countryside - from the Yorkshire Dales, were he walked in his teens, to the Malvern Hills in his later life. And although you can take the man out of Sunderland, you could never take Sunderland Football Club out of the man, although this was the true triumph of hope over expectation.

In short, he was a curious and generous man with a gift for friendship. He is survived by his wife, Mary, his sons Andrew and Graeme and stepdaughters Ruth and Deborah, and his first wife, Jennifer.

John's preferred charities were Shelter and Youth Music. To give to either, please use the "Donate" buttons on the right-hand panel.