William Hirst "Skip" Curry

1932 - 2023

Longtime Casper resident William Hirst ("Skip") Curry III, 91, died peacefully in his sleep on October 16, 2023, at Mountain Plaza Assisted Living. Skip was the son of William Hirst Curry Jr. and Ruth Skeen Curry. Born in San Antonio, TX, on February 3, 1932, he moved to Casper in 1944 with his parents and younger brother, John Skeen Curry, when his father started a field office for Atlantic Refining Co. After graduating from Natrona County High School in 1950, Skip got his bachelor's degree in geology at Cornell University in 1954, then earned his doctorate at Princeton University in 1959. He returned to Casper in January 1960 and began work as a geologist for Marathon Oil Co.

At Cornell, Skip met Harriette Erskine ("Hi") Allnutt of Baltimore, MD, and they were married at the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church in Baltimore on September 11, 1954. Skip won a ROTC commission as an Air Force Second Lieutenant his senior year and served at Westover AFB near Springfield, MA, from 1955 to 1957. His security clearance as a military officer influenced his selection as a graduate assistant to Professor Harry Hess at Princeton, a pioneer in mapping seafloor spreading to explain plate tectonics. While at Princeton, Skip did fieldwork in Central Wyoming over two summers as the basis for his dissertation.

Skip and Hi raised their four daughters in Casper, purchased land and built a cabin on Casper Mountain in the early 1960s, where the family gathered for decades. Skip would take the whole family rock hunting, and he filled the larder with venison, elk, and antelope during hunting season. On special occasions, he hosted family reunions at Jackson Lake Lodge. Skip was also passionate about collecting jade and was notable for driving small red convertibles with the top down as long as Wyoming weather allowed.

Skip left Marathon to forge a career as an independent geologist in 1967. He and his father were active in the Wyoming Geological Association (WGA) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), with both serving in leadership in the 1970s. Skip received numerous awards from the WGA over the years, including the Distinguished Service Award in 1977. He was well known as a speaker, led regular field trips in the area, and published many professional papers between 1954 and 1993. He and three fellow geologists joined forces in 1977-1978 to construct a condominium office building, Overland Plaza, near the Platte River off North Poplar St. Skip was also active in the Rotary Club of Casper and enjoyed lifelong relationships with friends from NCHS.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hi and Skip began to travel overseas. A highlight was a safari to Kenya in 1989, when they joined a group of Casper friends. They enjoyed cruises around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, including numerous trips to the Holy Land and along the coast of Turkey. While they enjoyed seeing more of the world, they always said it was nice to return home to Wyoming.

Skip was devoted to Hi, his wife of 62 years, who died on September 11, 2016. He championed her love of art (in every form) and loved making her laugh. Skip was also predeceased by his parents and brother John. He is survived by four daughters, Tam Bryfogle (Mark), Cathleen Toups (Stephen), Carol Westbrook, and Donna Curry; six grandchildren, Kelly Rush (Micah), Stacy Frude (Aaron), Wilson Toups, Sara Johnson (Ashley), Paige Ebersole (Luke), and Kate Yutuc (Kyle); twelve great-grandchildren, aged 1 to 16, with another due in November; as well as nephew Jonathan Skeen Curry (Rebecca) and family.

Skip is remembered with great love and affection as a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle. He was incredibly generous, fiercely loyal, adventurous, and creative. He attended countless school concerts and Christmas pageants, celebrated graduations, marriages, and births, and shared the delights of Oreos and wind-up toys. He had an insatiable intellectual curiosity, delving into history, prehistory, the Bible, mitochondrial DNA and Haplotypes, gamma radiation, etc. He showed unwavering support for those he loved.

The family is grateful to administrators and staff at Mountain Plaza, Home Instead, and Enhabit for their compassionate care of Skip.

Arrangements are being made for a service in 2024 when the extended family can gather from around the country to celebrate Skip's long and wonderful life.