Melody A. (Stoesser) Currey, 71, of East Hartford, loving wife of over 50 years to Donald M. Currey, decidedly cast her final ballot on Monday, June 13, 2022. Born in Margaretville, NY on December 17, 1950, a daughter to the late Janet June (Price) Hartman, she was a resident of East Hartford since 1978.
Melody was a passionate traveler who enjoyed taking road trips with her beloved husband and family. Always the competitor, she enjoyed participating in the Women’s 9-Hole golf league on Wednesdays at East Hartford Golf Course, and was a talented card player, especially pinochle, where she mastered winning the trick.
One of her greatest wins, the one that started it all, was the day in October 1971 where Melody and Don joined forces. Over the next 50 years, that force led as an example of what love, kindness, and decency truly meant in this world.
After settling down in Portsmouth, NH, Melody and Don packed their truck with all of their possessions and set out to camp across the country, eventually settling in Anchorage, AK where Don was stationed and often took to the air in his Cessna to share in the beauty and majesty of “The Last Frontier.” After some time - and a few pool hustles and extravagant bar tabs - Melody and Don welcomed their first child, Becky.
In 1976, the new family of three made their last apartment pitstop, moving back to New York State before building their life in East Hartford, CT in 1978. For a family that would eventually grow to five, East Hartford became their chosen home – a community chosen because of its working-class shine and openhearted residents.
Melody was one of The Moms who helped to raise not only her brood, but a generation of children who walked (likely ran) the halls of Silver Lane, EHMS, EHHS, and Synergy. She opened the family home for scout meetings, CCD classes, PTO brainstorms, countless pool parties, and a number of late-night sleepovers.
In those days, you’d always find her moving about in her blue jeans from Seaparks (if you know, you know) and a variety of solid-colored t-shirts. It was this “uniform” that she wore throughout the entirety of her early community work. Whether walking kids to Shea Park for free lunch to ensure the neighborhood was fed, carpooling to and from swim lessons, dance classes, and bowling league, attending local Democratic Town and District Committee meetings, or handing out pizza on half days or working the snack shack at a baseball game. This was the uniform of a Super Mom - no flash or flare needed. With Melody, it was always substance and success, believing you could do good things without being recognized.
Those mom jeans and tee’s did get a bit of a glow-up when Melody made the decision to seek work outside of the home and began a brief stint at the JCPenney call center followed by a secretarial position at St. Mary’s Church. It was then, following the election of 1990, that Melody was offered a position that would change her life and the lives of countless others forever.
In January of 1991, Melody and her skirts, which she hated but felt she had to wear so as to not emasculate any of her male colleagues or elected officials, began a renowned career under the gold dome in Hartford as the Clerk of the Banks Committee for House Democrat’s Office. Her work ethic, quick wit, and ability to get things done, quickly earned her a position as a Legislative Aide to East Hartford’s own - State Representative Rosemary Moynihan.
In the spring of 1992, when it was decided that Rep. Moynihan would not seek re-election, Melody, an unlikely contender at the time, was asked to step up and fill those heels. But of course, Melody was smarter than that - knowing full well that sensible shoes, and the new staple – a blazer – were the way to go. During each of her campaigns, she wore through countless pairs of those sensible shoes as she walked many miles and door knocked the district as though her community depended upon it. Representing the 10th Assembly District, her adopted hometown of East Hartford, was one of the greatest privileges and honors bestowed upon her.
During her eleven years in the CT General Assembly, Melody served on a number of committees, including Education, Appropriations, Regulation and Review, Judiciary and as the Democrat lead of the Reapportionment Committee of 2001. In her sophomore term, Melody was appointed by then-Majority Leader Moria Lyons to serve as a Deputy Majority Leader and later as her Chair of Screening – positions her son, Jeff, would hold almost twenty years later.
When Majority Leader Lyons was elected Speaker of the House, Moira and Melody, or “Moria’s enforcer” as some have recently shared, kept their partnership intact with Speaker Lyons naming Melody Deputy Speaker. This is where Melody was able to successfully navigate through the headwinds of a male-dominated field where, before the recent resurgence of fighting for women’s rights, she quietly (or not?) paved a path for countless women to follow that would ensure their voices would be heard…even if it got her seated in the back row of the Chamber. From there and many places thereafter, she shaped the lives and provided opportunities that would change the trajectory of so many individuals, many of whom still find themselves fighting the good fight at the State Capitol and beyond.
Melody took that fight and all her subtle vigor to the electors of East Hartford in 2005 where she successfully campaigned and was elected Mayor. During her more than five years in Town Hall, Melody was the linchpin that saw East Hartford through the Great Recession and rebuilt a community that she held in the highest regard until the moment of her death.
Yet again, her passion and dedication for the work earned her a new title when Governor-elect Dannel Malloy appointed her to head up everyone’s favorite public-facing agency, the CT Department of Motor Vehicles (no shade, DMV!). Melody was known for walking her signature blazer/broach combo through the halls and rooms of the DMV, speaking with residents and often bringing folks directly up to the office to have complex matters quickly worked out.
After four years of effectively creating new systems of efficiency that laid the groundwork for the success CTDMV sees today, Governor Malloy would ask Melody to lead the prodigious Department of Administrative Services where she, among many other accomplishments, led the renovations of new state office buildings, including the towers along the CT River where her office on the 15th floor looked out over East Hartford, reminding her to remain grounded and focused on what mattered, and where it all began.
In addition to her elected and appointed positions, including her stint as the Acting-Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Melody served as the President of the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Educational Funding, the President of the Council of Connecticut Municipalities, and the Chair of the Capitol Regional Council of Governments. Her community involvement also included active membership in the EH Lions Club, EH ChildPlan, Inc., EH School Readiness Council, Democratic Women’s Club, Democratic Town Committee, Veterans Who Care, Science Center of CT Leadership Council, Neighborhood Revitalization, Elementary and Secondary schools PTA/PTO, Federal Parent Advisory Council, CCD Coordinator for St. Mary’s, Girl Scout Leader, Little League baseball team mother, and EH Community Care, Inc.
Out of all the titles Melody had over the years, she was especially fulfilled in her non-elected, but well-deserved role as Mom and Grandma. She was immensely proud of her children and their respective personal (I mean, who has 5 kids these days, Matt!) and each of their professional accomplishments. Grandma Currey, with the love of her life, Don, loved spoiling her grandchildren - always offering a lap to crawl on to, a good book to read, a deck of cards to play with (don’t you even think about cheating!), and a sweet treat.
For those who may not know the person behind the blazer and broach, Melody was an amazing daughter, sister, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, legislator, Mayor, and State Commissioner who exemplified leadership in every fiber of her body. She was available, direct, and supportive, always listening to any perspective with interest and respect. Most importantly, she was fair, equitable, and ethical no matter the impact to her personally or politically. Melody epitomized the politician who we should all hold in high esteem and aspire to be. One we should all learn from in order to hold ourselves accountable while maintaining the highest of standards. Her legacy lives on through the countless laws she enacted and the values she instilled in her family, and her elective prowess led to life-altering improvements for East Hartford and State of Connecticut residents. Hers was a race well run.
Along with her devoted husband Don, Melody is survived by three beloved children, Becky Johansen, State Representative Jeff Currey, and Matthew Currey and his wife Danielle, whom Melody loved as one of her own, all of East Hartford; six adored grandchildren, Matthew Jr., Devin, Lily, Mariah, Delilah, and Maxwell. She also leaves a niece, Janet Buckmiller and her husband Emil of Mechanicville, NY; two grandnieces, Shanna Nichols of Malta, NY, and Danielle Ostrom of Schenectady, NY; several cousins, former co-workers, constituents, and dear friends. Besides her mother, she was predeceased by her son-in-law, Eric M. Johansen of East Hartford; two brothers, Roy Daniels and Bruce Stoesser; a sister, Gay Daniels Baker; and a niece, Wendy Nichols.
Funeral service will be Wednesday, June 22, 2022 with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10:30 am at St. Mary’s Church of North American Martyrs Parish, Main Street/Maplewood Avenue, East Hartford. Burial will follow at Silver Lane Cemetery in East Hartford. The family has requested that everyone please go directly to the church on Wednesday morning. The family will receive relatives, friends, and anyone whose lives were enriched due to knowing Melody on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 from 2 – 7 pm at the D’Esopo-East Hartford Memorial Chapel, 30 Carter Street, East Hartford. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions towards a scholarship in Melody’s memory to support the next generation of women in power may be made to the East Hartford Alumni Association and Education Foundation at [email protected]. For on-line expressions of sympathy to the family, please visit www.desopoeh.com.
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