Victor Elmo Curry

V. E. Curry of San Angelo passed from this life Sunday, September 16, 2012 at the age of 93. He leaves behind a legacy of over 50 years of hard work and professionalism in the construction and real estate industries, as well as friends all over Texas who loved and respected him for his lively sense of humor and willingness to make friends of strangers.

Victor Elmo Curry was born the third of four children to Robert Elmo Curry and Annie Elizabeth Gray on June 6, 1919 in Snyder, Texas. His father, Robert, was a dairy farmer who moved the family to Miles, Texas when Elmo was a boy. Here he spent many memorable summers working with thresher crews hauling bundled oats to the threshing machines with his favorite mules, Dave and Rhody. Elmo’s appreciation for livestock and fine horses stayed with him throughout his life.

Elmo graduated from Miles High School in 1937 and enrolled in San Angelo business College. He was late to begin classes due to the massive flooding which struck the San Angelo area in 1936. On his first day in class Elmo was called to the blackboard with some other students to calculate a math problem. His partner at the blackboard was Vera Mae Smith (Coonie). Coonie had been in class promptly from the beginning and decided that as soon as she finished her calculations she would help this poor young gentleman who obviously could not know how to correctly calculate the problem due to his unfortunate absence. As Coonie finished her figures and turned with a smile to help young Elmo, she was astounded to find his figures already finished and correct on the board, and he standing there grinning at her. Thus began a long and devoted relationship culminating with Coonie’s death in 1989 after 50 years of marriage.

From Business College Elmo’s ability with figures led him to manage all aspects of West Texas Lumber Company. There he worked many years for Mr. B.B. Hale on North Main Street in San Angelo. Eventually, Elmo made contact with William “Bill” Warner who was just starting a construction company. Elmo went to work as an estimator for Mr. Warner who was to become one of his closest, lifelong friends.

Elmo and Coonie attended First Methodist Church at Beauregard and Oakes in San Angelo all of their adult lives. Both became heavily involved in teaching and committees. While in Sunday School they befriended a number of couples who came to form a close knit group known as “The Smugs”. Their mischievous pranks were focused mainly on each other. The most popular prank involved the “rewarding” of an 8’ wooden airplane propeller which had a history of showing up at the most inopportune times. For example, one evening Elmo and Coonie returned home to find the propeller set in concrete in the grassy median of their driveway. Luckily the Smug culprits’ timing was off as Elmo was able to push the propeller over with the bumper of his car before the cement was fully set.

Elmo enlisted in the Air Force at the outset of WWII and was stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo. Again, his ability with numbers landed him in the administrative office, later to be stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii towards the end of the war.

After the war Elmo helped build Warner Construction Company in the hard scrabble construction environment of West Texas. He would work for Warner Construction Company for the next 20 years during which time his two children Gwenda Lynn and Ronald Elmo were born.

In 1964 Warner Construction Company dissolved leaving Elmo and his family in unfamiliar and precarious times. Coonie had returned to work and Elmo turned to Great Southern Life Insurance Co. where he worked for several years before getting his real estate license. In 1967 he began selling residential real estate for Sam and Barbara Hesse. His professionalism, care for his clients, and lively personality enabled him to open his own office, Curry Realty, where he worked until August of 2003. Elmo’s energy and good health enabled him to work until he was 84 years old. His last professional years were spent working for the Veteran’s Administration doing residential appraisals.

In addition to his successful career in construction and real estate, Elmo channeled his love for competition into producing one of the finest miniature horse herds in the southwest. How many times did his horse breeding friends smile when he and Coonie would pull up at a show, horses in tow, with the sign Curry Farm Fine Miniature Horses on the back end of the trailer. Elmo bred and sold Shetlands and miniatures for over 25 years (1964-1989), producing many National Champions. After Coonie’s death Elmo sold his herd, realizing all the trips, trophies, and memories belonged as much to Coonie as himself, and so were buried with her.

Having been married for 50 years, it was not long after the death of his beloved Coonie that the widower Elmo soon realized he was not meant to live alone. He found comfort in the companionship of Billie Doris Boykin, herself recently widowed. Billie was a lifelong acquaintance of the Currys’, being especially close to Elmo’s uncle and his wife, Horace Love and Iona Curry of Miles, Texas. Elmo and Billie were married in April of 1991 and resided in Bentwood Estates in San Angelo.

Elmo’s competitive side still was not satisfied. He no longer had his horses, but before Coonie died Elmo had purchased “in secret” a 1968 black Ford Mustang convertible. His secret was discovered when the title arrived in the mail and Coonie got to the envelope first. She turned her curiosity into a good-natured interrogation. Elmo owned up, and soon began the process of rebuilding this car which eventually won numerous golds in car shows statewide culminating in a National Championship trophy in 1994 at Pensacola, Florida. Coonie did not live long enough to see this beautiful car completely restored, but Billie stepped in and with hard work and support helped this car open a new outlet for Elmo’s competitive spirit. In addition to the Championship ’68, Elmo also owned and showed a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, and another championship Mustang. This one was rebuilt from the ground up. It was a red, 1966 Mustang GT convertible which was his pride and joy.

During his lifetime Elmo was involved in numerous civic and professional organizations, many in which he played a leadership role. Some of his most notable service included serving as President of the San Angelo Chapter of the Red Cross and President of the San Angelo Board of Realtors. He was a longtime member of the San Angelo Kiwanis Club, West Texas Shetland Pony Breeders Association, American Miniature Horse Association, San Angelo Classic Car Club, San Angelo Mustang Club, and the Mustang Club of America.

Survivors include daughter Gwenda Lynn Nugent of Lincoln, Nebraska; Ronald Elmo Curry of Austin; niece Jo Ann Alvarez of Fort Worth; nephews Mark Thomas Story of Dallas and Gilbert Dale Story of Fort Worth; and granddaughter Katherine Parker of Johnston, Iowa.

Graveside service will be held at 9:00 A.M. Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens. Memorial Service will be at 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at Johnson’s Funeral Home.

May you find rest with Coonie and your fine horses, Gadabout, Blueboy, and all the Concho’een, someplace where the grass is sweet, the sun is warm, and this year’s colts are forever on the run.