James Gilbert Curley

Jim was born on September 7, 1937, to Thomas and Norma Curley in Anderson, SC. At age 4, his parents moved to Cook, MN, to care for his grandfather in a small cabin with no electricity. After his grandfather’s death, they moved to another cabin, constructed by his father. As a child, Jim’s commute to school tasked him with trekking through the Minnesota woods where, on many occasions, he would hunt on his way home.

After graduating from Roosevelt High School in Virginia, MN, he went on to earn a teaching degree at University of Minnesota, Duluth. Later, he moved to Anchorage, AK to continue teaching.

In Alaska, Jim met and married Carolyn Bourn in 1971, a widow with three children. Jim brought with him, his own two children from a previous marriage and a year later they added to their family with the birth of a son.

Jim advanced his career with a master’s degree from the University of Alaska, Anchorage and maintained a position of school principal until retiring at the age of fifty.

After retiring and moving to Pahoa, HI in 1986, he served in the Puna Baptist Church, served as president of the Leilani Estates Homeowners Association, and grew macadamia nuts on five acres of land. The tragic loss of the home to fire from a lava flow necessitated a move to Windsor, CO in 2018. Jim had lived in Colorado for nearly four years before contracting Covid in August of 2021. The Lord called him HOME July 10, 2022, from Pelican Point Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Jim is predeceased by his father, Thomas and mother, Norma. Jim is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Carolyn "Kerry," children; James Jr., Karen Madigan, Lynn Lamm, Kevin, Kim Tedrick and Jon, seventeen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

There will be an open house from noon - 7 pm with a picnic style potluck on August 20, 2022, at the Curley’s home in Windsor, Colorado.

This will be a time of celebrating Jim’s life and remembrance with family and friends around food and fellowship.

All who wish to come are welcome.