Obituary of Lyall Alexander CURRY

CURRY, Lyall Alexander June 4, 1922 to January 1, 2017 Lyall Curry of Strathmore, Alberta passed away peacefully early on January 1, 2017 at 94 years of age with his loving wife Carol at his side. He had a long and full life and was one of the last of a generation that started farming using teams of horses and ended up with four wheel drive tractors. He was born at home to Alex and Blanche Curry in the Carolside district south of Hanna, Alberta. He joined a sister Leone and later two more sisters Adele and Ina completed the family. Lyall’s carefree childhood was interrupted when he contracted polio the fall he was 6 years old. He was lucky to almost completely recover after 1 1/2 months in the Grey Nuns hospital in Edmonton. However his attitude towards the Catholic church and authority figures in general was colored forever. Lyall came of age in the dirty thirties and no doubt that terrible time left a mark on him as it did on everyone who went through the depression. Lyall’s farming and ranching career began in April of ’39 when his father asked for help putting in the crop. He immediately quit school in Hanna and returned to the homestead. He always said it was one of his happiest moments. Lyall farmed at home with horses until the mid ’40s and also worked out on threshing crews as a teamster. He finally got a tractor and as sometimes was the case went a little overboard. In the spring of ’45 he and a partner seeded 1000 acres of crop with a Cockshutt 70 pulling a 6′ tiller. They ran that outfit around the clock in 12 hour shifts for over 3 weeks. Lyall became more interested in raising cattle in the years that followed. Maybe partly because of his experience in large scale farming. Lyall married Ruth Becklund in 1949 and they were blessed with 3 sons; Edward, Clayton and Gregory; and a daughter Karen. As his boys became more usefull on the ranch Lyall began to seize opportunities to expand his land base and cattle herd. Brother Clay will never forget the tiny plastic trucks we got for Christmas in 1959 after Lyall had made a land deal. As time went on all 3 boys bought into the ranching vocation and Lyall kept taking chances, borrowing money, and expanding. Lyall and Ruth divorced in the early ’70s and he later married Carol Andrus. They ranched for a few years on the Red Deer River near Buffalo and then at Big Stone until 1988 when they retired to Strathmore. In Strathmore they enjoyed town life, golfed, curled, and travelled. For several years Lyall and Carol took their motorhome to the southern states for the winter and once even drove it in a caravan all through Mexico. Lyall was active in several farm and ranch organizations through the years. This included being a delegate for the Alberta Wheat Pool, Western Strockgrowers board member and was a member of the Advisory Council for Special Areas. Lyall always had a keen interest in politics and was a lone voice for the liberals in many gatherings. He kept up on political matters until the last few years and even had his picture on the front page of the Calgary Herald shaking hands with the present Prime Minister. Lyall is survived by his loving wife Carol, sons Ed (Kris), Clayton (Jean), Greg (Rhonda), daughter Karen, 6 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, brother-in-law Sid Brander and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, sisters, Adele Robb, Ina Brander, and Leone Curry and brother-in-law Charlie Robb. At Lyall’s request there will be no funeral service and his ashes will be scattered on the land that his Dad homesteaded in 1910. If friends so chose, please make donations to the Adele Curry Robb Scholarship Fund for students from the Special Areas attending Olds College. Please mail donations directly to: Adele Blanche Curry Robb Bursary, C/O Olds College, 4500 – 50 St., Olds, Ab T4H 1R6, Attn: Mary in Advancement. In closing this is a poem from an almanac that Lyall’s mother Blanche included in her diary when he was 6. “Isn’t it strange to princes and kings And clowns who caper in sawdust rings, And common folk like you and me Are builders for eternity? To each is given a bag of tools A shapeless mass and a book of rules And each must make, ‘er life has flown A stumbling block or a stepping stone.” To send condolences, please click on the link below or send emails directly to: condolences@wheatlandfuneralhome.ca Send Condolences