James Edward Curran Jr.

Jim was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 23, 1941. He spent his formative years in Bayonne and later Maplewood, New Jersey, where he graduated from Columbia High School in 1959.

In 1961, Jim moved with his family to New Orleans, Louisiana. Determined to become a pilot, he set his sights on the Air Force and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Tulane University, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Along the way he took up skydiving, logging more than 100 jumps.

In 1966, Jim married Frances Shambra Curran; together they had three children. That same year he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and completed pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, and Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, Arizona. His first assignment was McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington, flying long-haul supply missions to Southeast Asia. His son Jim was born there in 1967.

By 1969 he was stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio, training on the AC-119K “Stinger” gunship, an armed version of the C-119 Flying Boxcar. His son Mike was born there that year. Jim then deployed to Vietnam, flying combat missions with the 18th Special Operations Squadron in 1969–1970. His decorations included the Air Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

In 1972, he was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, as an instructor pilot at the Instrument Flight Center, flying the T-38 Talon. A gifted teacher with a famously quick wit, he was in his element at the IFC. His daughter, Cathy, was born at Fort Sam Houston in 1976.

His later assignments included the Pentagon and a return to San Antonio, where he helped re-establish the Instrument Flight Center. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1987. That same year he joined Continental Airlines as a pilot, flying until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 in 2001.

In 1997, Jim married the love of his life, Mary Moore Curran, whom he lost to cancer in 2001.

Away from the cockpit, Jim’s great passion was classic Corvettes from the 1950s and ’60s, and over the years he restored several of them. He always said that “busy hands are happy hands,” and he could be found working around the house, yard, and pool. He was the family’s “Mr. Fix-It,” the one everyone called when something broke. He also had a great sense of humor, and he could find something to laugh about in almost any situation.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Moore Curran, and his parents, James E. Curran and Alice MacGillis Curran.

He is survived by his children, James E. “Jim” Curran III (Michelle) of Vancouver, British Columbia; Michael “Mike” (Angie) Curran of Canyon Lake, Texas; and Catherine “Cathy” (Richard) Barnett of New Orleans, Louisiana; his grandchildren, Jack, Daphne, James, William, Michael, Anna, and Addie; his brother, Patrick (Kris) Curran of The Woodlands, Texas; and his sister, Maribeth Cullom of Stevensville, Maryland, and her children and grandchildren.

A funeral liturgy will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, October 26, at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1602 Thousand Oaks Drive, San Antonio, followed by interment with military honors at 2:30 p.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. A reception for family and friends will follow the interment.

Arrangements are by Sunset Memorial Park & Funeral Home, San Antonio. The family thanks Amy and Crystal of Embracing Hearts In-Home Care for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation, which funds pancreatic cancer research (lustgarten.org).