Joe Dean Curry

COLUMBUS JUNCTION ? Joe Dean Curry, 87, of Columbus Junction, died Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Mercy Hospice in Iowa City.

A memorial will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Louisa County Youth Center in Columbus Junction. Food and fellowship will follow. A general memorial has been established. Iowa Crematory in Cedar Rapids is in charge of the arrangements.

Mr. Curry was born May 16, 1929, in Palmyra, Missouri, the son of Glenn and Hazel (Young) Curry. He married Janet Morrison on March 20, 1951, at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Muscatine.

He moved with his family to the Muscatine area, where he grew up. He attended the one-room rural schools and then worked at the Burdette Hitchcock farm for several years. He was an Army veteran of the Korean conflict and served in Seoul, Korea. He loved spending time with family more than anything else in life. His greatest joy was having family around and doing projects with his grandchildren. He had an unfailing wit, and liked visiting and joking with folks. He liked to nickname his friends, which often cause his family to pause to figure out who he was talking about. He was known for his great work ethic. He and his wife worked together through their 65 years of marriage. They did custom painting, farm work, raised livestock, and whatever projects came up. They mowed several acres of cemeteries and lawns for many years. He also worked at Rath plant for 17 years. He was a member of the American Legion Post 100, Farm Bureau, and Pheasants Forever.

Surviving are his wife, Janet; two children, William Curry and wife Lily of New Virginia, and Jennifer Huston and husband Mark of Columbus Junction; one son-in-law, Fred Lukavsky and wife Margie of Wapello; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; one sister, Berniece Seright of Muscatine; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by one daughter, Rebecca Lukavsky; his parents, Glenn and Hazel Curry; three sisters, Ruth Barko, Helen Hein, and Thelma Connor; and five brothers, Rex, Paul, Bob, Glenn Jr., and Dick.