R. Bruce Curry

Robert Bruce Curry Sr., 96, of Gainesville, passed away Monday, January 26, 2026.

Born September 24,1929, and known to all as "Bruce," he was raised on the family farm near Winchester, Kansas, by Neil and Isabel Curry and attended a one-room school through the eighth grade. Bruce graduated from Winchester High School with the class of 1947 and from Kansas State University in 1951 with a B.S. in agricultural engineering.

Bruce began his professional career as a civil engineer with the US Bureau of Reclamation in Grand Island, Nebraska. After serving in the US Army Chemical Corps at Fort Detrick, Maryland during the Korean War (1952-1954) and completing his master's degree in irrigation engineering from Colorado State University (1955), he accepted a teaching faculty position in agricultural engineering at the University of Missouri, where he met his future wife at an event for new faculty. He married Roberta (Mitchell) Curry in June 1956 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering, graduating in 1960.

Following graduation, Bruce was appointed assistant professor of agricultural engineering at The Ohio State University, stationed at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. He rose through the faculty ranks, served as associate chair of the department, and retired from Ohio State in 1987. From 1987-1996, he was a visiting professor in the University of Florida Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. During his academic career, he authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, including journal articles, abstracts, book chapters, and books. He was one of three founding members of Alpha Epsilon, the honor society of agricultural, food, and biological engineering. He also was a member of Gamma Sigma Delta and Sigma Xi, and Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

In 1967, Bruce took sabbatical leave to Cambridge University to begin work on modeling biological systems and published his first paper on dynamic simulation of plant growth in 1971. He went on to author SOYMOD, a detailed simulator of the soybean plant, and he was a co-founder of the Biological Systems Simulation Group, an international team of researchers using computer modeling and simulation to study plant growth systems and impacts of climate change on agriculture. A co-authored article published in Nature, "Global climate change and US agriculture" (1990) has been cited more than 1,200 times. He also developed an automated agricultural weather station network for the state of Ohio that served as a model for other states.

A lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church, Bruce served at various times as an Elder, Deacon, and Trustee in Missouri, Ohio, and Florida. He joined the Kiwanis club in 1964,

served on the Board of Directors in both Ohio and Florida, was President of the Wooster Kiwanis Club, and honored as Kiwanian of the Year in Gainesville (2003-2004).

Bruce was also active at The Village at Gainesville where he was a resident for nearly 20 years. He was secretary and president of Resident Council, edited the Cottage Courier newsletter for 16 years, and was a long-time member of the scholarship committee. He also served three terms on the Corporate Advisory Board, representing his fellow residents.

Bruce was preceded in death by his parents, son Robert Bruce Curry Jr., and his wife of 69 years, Roberta. He is survived by daughter Elaine (Allen) Turner of Gainesville, daughter-in-law Janice Curry of Overland Park, grandchildren Mallory Curry, Mitchell Turner, Robert Bruce (Jordin) Curry III, Allen Turner Jr., and great-grandson Bo.

Arrangements are being handled by Forest Meadows and services will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts for The Village at Gainesville Associate Scholarship Fund may be made online at http://www.sfcollege.edu/foundation or mailed to the Santa Fe College Foundation, 3000 NW 83rd St, Gainesville, FL 32606.