Dr. Benjamin Fleming Currin

Dr. Benjamin Fleming Currin passed away peacefully at his home in Raleigh on November 23, 2024. He lived a rich life full of laughter and love for his family and friends, and a career of public service as a lifelong educator and administrator across North Carolina.

Ben was born on November 13, 1936 in Granville County, North Carolina, to Sophia Hunt Currin and Elam Ray Currin. He attended the public schools of then Oxford City Schools, where, in the first grade at C.G. Credle Elementary School, he met the love of his life, Betsy Bullock. Ben graduated from Oxford High School in 1955, where he played football, baseball and basketball, and was selected as “best looking” in his senior yearbook.

Ben went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1959; his masters degree in education in 1962 and his advanced graduate certificate in professional education in 1963. He received his doctorate in public and private education from UNC Chapel Hill in 1970. He also completed the Government Executives Institute of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Business Administration.

While Ben was at UNC Chapel Hill and Betsy was a student at Meredith College, Ben and Betsy were married in 1957 at the bride’s home in Oxford.

Ben never met a stranger, and his life’s greatest achievement was the impact he made in the lives of others, including students and colleagues he met along the way. Ben was a man of the people and had the rare ability to relate to and care about people from all walks of life. He and Betsy devoted their lives to education—he was a teacher, school principal, school superintendent, and community college president.

Ben’s lifelong commitment to education began in 1959 with his position as an eighth grade teacher and basketball and baseball coach at Lowe’s Grove School in Durham, North Carolina. Shortly thereafter in 1961, he was selected to be the principal at Eureka Elementary School in Wayne County, where he was the youngest principal in the state of North Carolina. In 1963, Ben was named principal at Colonial Drive Elementary School in Thomasville, North Carolina. In 1964, Ben was selected as associate superintendent of Halifax County Schools. In 1970, at the age of 33, Ben was named the Superintendent of the Rocky Mount City Schools, where he served for more than a decade. During his tenures in Halifax County and Rocky Mount, Ben led the effective integration of the public schools in those districts.

In 1976, Ben was a candidate for the statewide office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Although his campaign against the incumbent was unsuccessful, he garnered substantial support for his campaign and ideas, which included bringing the public schools “back to the basics” of education.

Ben was chosen to be the President of Vance-Granville Community College in 1981. During his time at Vance-Granville, he helped grow it from one campus to four and doubled its enrollment. Ben also reactivated the college’s Endowment Fund, growing it from $12,000 to $5 million before his retirement, providing numerous scholarships to students. Ben was also selected to attend the Management of Lifelong Education Institute at Harvard University in 1986.

A faithful Tar Heel, Ben adored all things Carolina, especially the basketball leadership of the great Dean Smith and Roy Williams. He was a proud North Carolinian. In 2009, Ben received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for service to the state. In 2016, Ben received the I.E. Ready Award, the highest honor awarded by the North Carolina Community College System. He was also a Mason and Shriner. Ben devoted his entire life to the service of others, his family and his native state.

Ben is predeceased by his mother Sophia Hunt Currin, his father Elam Ray Currin, and his son, Benjamin Fleming Currin, Jr.

Ben is survived by his wife of 67 years, Betsy Bullock Currin of Raleigh; his devoted son, George Bullock Currin of Asheville; and his beloved granddaughter, Catherine Elizabeth Currin of Raleigh; in addition to many cousins, extended family and dear friends.

The family will host a graveside service at Elmwood Cemetery in Oxford, North Carolina, 530 Hillsboro St., date and time forthcoming.

The Currin family gives special thanks to the team at Transitions LifeCare for their support during Ben’s last months of life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Dr. Ben F. Currin scholarship at Vance-Granville Community College, or to Transitions LifeCare.

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's St, Raleigh, is serving the Currin family.