Raymond E. Curr

Britton - The funeral for Raymond E. Curr will be 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, at First Lutheran Church of Britton, with the Reverends Sara and Terrill Sorensen officiating. Burial will be in the Britton cemetery, with Military Honors presented by Britton Post #80 of the American Legion and V.F.W. Post #3507 of Britton. Visitation will be noon to 7 p.m. today (Sunday, August 7) at Price Funeral Chapel of Britton, with a Masonic Service at 6:30 p.m. There will also be visitation one hour preceding the funeral at the church on Monday. Raymond Edward Curr was born July 21, 1920, in Marshall County, South Dakota to Ray E. and Irene Monica (Geppart) Curr. He attended rural Marshall County schools and graduated from Amherst High School. Raymond served in the U.S. Navy from June 30, 1942 until December 1945. As part of his training, Raymond attended gyro compass school in St. Louis, Mo., and was assigned on the naval destroyer, the U.S.S. Murray. During his tour, he participated in many Pacific battles, including: Wake Islands, Bougainville Island, Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, New Guinea, Marianas, Leyte, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and operations against the mainland of Japan. The Murray was present in Tokyo Bay during the Sept. 2, 1945, Japanese surrender. Raymond earned the Navy Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with three battles stars, World War II Victory Medal, Navy Occupation Service Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation. Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Raymond returned to the area and bought his parents business in Amherst, operating it until 1947. He was instrumental in establishing the V.F.W. Post in Britton and served as manager. He married Ione Merilla Price at her parents home in Britton, on Sept. 5, 1950. The couple made their home in Britton, and Raymond briefly went into the grocery business with partner Raymond Roehr. Shortly thereafter, the Currs started farming two miles south of Amherst. The house and many of the buildings were built by Raymond and his brother, Harvey. Raymond and Ione lived on the farm until moving back to Britton in September 2004. Raymond was a 50-year member and had served as Commander of both Britton Post #80 of the American Legion and V.F.W. Post #3507 of Marshall County. He had been a member of the Weston Township Board, the Amherst Elevator Board and the Weston Consolidated School Board. His fraternal affiliations included 50 years of membership in Claremont Masonic Lodge #103 and the Yelduz Shrine, as well as having served as president of the Britton Shrine Club. He belonged to the Odd Fellows Lodge of Britton, the Britton Golf Club, the Elks Lodge, Jesters, and the Order of the Eastern Star. Raymond had a keen interest in sports and loved to play cards. Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Ione Curr of Britton; two daughters, Denice (Neil) Smith of Pine River, Minn. and Cherry (Charles) Hall of Cheyenne, Wyo.; four grandchildren: Rae Ann (Mark) Phillips of Farmington, Minn.; Amy Marie (Brian) DeKanick of Plymouth, Minn.; Scott Smith of Coon Rapids, Minn.; Pat Hall of San Diego, Calif.; and two great-grandchildren: Kristopher Hall of Missoula, Mont. and Elizabeth Phillips of Farmington, Minn. Raymond was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Harvey Curr. Music for the funeral will be provided by Dorothy Christenson, organist and Amy Jo Vietor, soloist. Casketbearers will be Steve Vietor, David Docter, Leo Peters, Dan Schott, Bradley Symens and Jim White.