Christopher Gene Curry

Christopher Gene Curry passed away very peacefully at the South Health Campus in Calgary, Alberta on Friday July 24, 2020 at the age of 75 years. He was surrounded by his wife and sons. Chris was predeceased by his parents Albert and Hilda Curry and infant sister Lillian.

Chris was born in 1945 in Virden, Manitoba and grew up on the family farm near Lenore. His childhood was marked by many boys-own adventures and around age 12 he began working for several local farmers. Chris eventually moved to Calgary in 1970 where he worked in the heating and refrigeration industry, ultimately becoming general sales manager at Fred Deeves and Sons. In Calgary Chris met Donelda (Dee) whom he married in 1973. After raising three sons, they started their own successful HVAC business together in 2002. Chris was an avid runner his entire life, beginning with field days in grade school and culminating in trail-running and ultra-marathoning later in life. Chris recalled that while training for his first competitive race in high-school he was forced to run in rubber boots along the muddy back roads around his family's farm - a testament to Chris’ habit of making the best of any situation. His pursuit of running took him on many adventures, including the Royal Victoria Marathon where he set a personal best time of 3 hours 30 minutes and the Red Hot 55 Ultra-Marathon in Moab, Utah - a race he competed in three times, once as the oldest competitor! Chris gave back to the running community in many ways - whether volunteering to run aid stations or ensuring the safety of his fellow trail runners during their many excursions to the mountains west of Calgary. Chris also served on the executive of the Calgary Roadrunners for three years, including a term as President in 2000. He also helped coach the CRR marathon and half-marathon training groups at the Olympic Oval, and introduced numerous people to the sport over the years.

Chris was an amateur photographer with a passion for nature and landscape. He also loved taking photos of family, demanding everyone to sit still and pose. Perhaps this is why it is so hard to find photos of him in the family photo albums! Thankfully the running community has a few gems that caught Chris’ infectious smile. Chris also loved music, as evidenced by his extensive record collection, and MP3/iTunes library. He wasn’t content just listening to music, he taught himself guitar so he could play it too. He shared these passions with his family who carry on the mountain adventures, music and photography in different ways.

Chris will be forever cherished by his wife of 47 years, Donelda; sisters Linda, Joy Mackenzie (Ron) and Colleen; his sons Roger (Selina), Cameron (Kasia) and Colin (Wendy); and grandchildren Ewan, Emery, Simon and Andrew. He will also be remembered by his extended family, neighbours and the many great friends he made in the Calgary Roadrunners and Trail Trash running groups. Your kindness will always be remembered.

Chris’s family would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the staff of Unit 68 at the South Health Campus, and in particular the care he received from Dr. Wickramasekara, Dr. Leah, Dr. Dantzig, Lori MacIssac and Mara; and also the team at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

In lieu of flowers Chris would ask people to make a donation to a charity of their choice, or to consider donating blood in his memory (www.blood.ca).

Chris’s ashes will be spread on the Powderface Trail in Kananaskis Country, Alberta, a wilderness where Chris and his friends spent countless hours on trail runs exploring secluded valleys and windswept ridge tops.

Messages of remembrance may be left for the family at www.southcalgaryfuneralcentre.ca

SOUTH CALGARY FUNERAL CENTRE and

CREMATORIUM (at Lake Fraser Gate)

Telephone: 403-297-0711

Honoured Provider of

Dignity Memorial