WAYNE K. CURRY

CURRY WAYNE K. CURRY Wayne K. Curry was a visionary who lead Prince George's County deftly through a severe financial crisis, the end of court-ordered busing and the construction of a new stadium for the Washington Redskins. He died at his home on July 2, 2014 of lung cancer. He was 63. Curry's election in 1994 as the region's first African American executive signaled a national coming out party for Prince George's. The county was the first in the nation where education and income levels rose as it transitioned from majority white to majority black-a sign that education was the key to upward mobility. As a child, Curry and his older brother, Daryl, had been the first to integrate their elementary school and he understood that the path he traveled was paved by civil rights pioneers. Curry's ascension, for many supporters, felt like an extension of that struggle with an intense focus on economic empowerment. An attorney and developer and former president of the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce, Curry considered wealth the equalizer that would trump social issues. At 43, when he was elected, Curry became the county's chief salesman, touting proximity to Washington, a good transportation system and a well-heeled population with money to spend. He demanded that developers build more expensive homes and he attempted to shutter garden apartments that he felt were hurting the county's image. Luxury shopping, restaurants, services and amenities soon followed. "If you want to be upscale," Curry said often, "you've got to act upscale." One measure of that was increasing funding for public schools. Between 1995 and 2002, school funding rose from $679 million to in excess of $1 billion. In part, the investment led to the renovation or construction of 26 schools. Meanwhile, property values increased dramatically. And revitalization began in earnest along the Route One Corridor, which centered development around the arts. Curry's vision paved the way for National Harbor, Bowie Town Center, FedEx and the Prince George's Sports and Learning Com- plex, a portion of which bears his name. Curry was instrumental in negotiating this community benefit as part of contentious negotiations with then owner of Washington Redskins, billionaire Jack Kent Cooke. Curry refused to spend county money to help build a football stadium because the county couldn't afford it. The state ultimately funded it. Curry's willingness to stand his ground often led to public conflict with members of Maryland's Democratic establishment, most of whom opposed his candidacy for county executive. Curry often took the media to task for its negative reporting of the county as the ugly duckling of the region. In time, the county's image emerged as the vision Curry held for it. Curry said that his public battles were aimed at improving the lives of county residents. "I was much more interested in making sense than making history," Curry told an interviewer last month as he first spoke publicly about his nearly year-long battle with lung cancer. Wayne Keith Curry was the second oldest of five. He was born January 6, 1951 in Brooklyn and raised in Cheverly. He graduated from the county's public schools. He received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and graduated with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. His career spanned government, civic and community affairs. He served on boards and advisory committees focused on improving black male achievement, treating substance abuse and improving the lives of children. As a young man, he was a hippy who tooled around the country in a Volkswagen Beetle. At home, he was comfortable in his overalls working his woodshop, building things. At work and play, Curry's smile was never far away, even with political rivals. Known for his voluminous vocabulary, he relished debate and intellectual gymnastics. He enjoyed living and loved talking about his kids and entertaining friends. Curry's final public campaign was a push to get people to stop smoking. Curry smoked most of his life. "Don't do it," he said. "My focus now is to identify and publicize the great disparities of treatment of cancers in America because African Americans are beset by lung cancer more than any other people, and lung cancer is the most ferocious cancer of them all." Curry is survived by his wife, Sheila Mills Curry, and two children, Julian Curry and Taylor Curry, all of Upper Marlboro; his mother, Juliette Curry of Ninety Six, South Carolina; and four siblings, Daryl Curry of Largo, Maryland, Leslie Curry of Ninety Six, Kevin Curry of Riverdale, Maryland and Denise Curry Taylor of District Heights, Maryland. Curry will lie in state at the Prince George's County Administrative Building from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9. The building is at 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive. A public viewing will also be held at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden on Thursday, July 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The church is located at 600 Watkins Park Drive in Upper Marlboro. A service will follow the viewing at 11 a.m.