Ted Curry Dies, Leaving Vacancy for Democrats in District 16 Senate Race

Ted Curry was a cool dude. He wrote some thoughtful blog posts. He was running again for Legislature this year in District 16.

Alas, cancer beat him. He died June 5. The Kober Funeral Home posts this obituary:

The life of Theodore Thomas Curry came to its inevitable conclusion, but far too soon, on June 5, 2018, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, after a brief but fierce battle with an aggressive cancer. Ted will be remembered for his love of family, fitness, and fairness, his high ethics and his strong ideals.

Ted was born April 18, 1976 in Sioux City, IA, to Thomas W. Curry and Patricia J. (Kippes) Curry. He grew up in Elk Point with siblings, Tony, Andy, and Chrissy, as well as a tight-knit extended Union County and eastern South Dakota family. In Ted’s own words, “the Curry’s first homesteaded in southern Union County in 1861, and served as farmers, teachers, soldiers, business people, and community leaders, offering their time and talents to make things better.”

After graduating Elk Point High School in 1994, Ted attended Northern State University and The University of South Dakota obtaining a full ROTC scholarship and graduating in 1998. Ted served as a Tank Platoon and Scout Platoon Leader with the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army, earning a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bellevue University during his service, and later attended the USD School of Law.

Upon leaving the military, Ted entered the business world as a manager, consultant, and Six Sigma for Cintas, Siemens, and the Myrtle Consulting Group. Ted traveled the world analyzing mass production and advising major corporations on increasing the efficiency of their facilities, equipment and procedures.

Ted married Cherie Nath in 2004. Their union produced four brilliant and beautiful daughters which led them back to Elk Point to raise their children and support the Curry legacy of farm, family, and hard work in Union County. At the time of his death, Ted was a candidate for District 16 House of Representatives, running on a platform of common sense in government, strengthening the economy, educating our children, and embracing the realities of the 21st Century.

Besides his love of family and passion for making his world a better place, Ted enjoyed cycling, playing guitar, hiking, camping, family trips, and world travel.Ted is survived by his wife, Cherie, and daughters Isabelle, Celeste, Iris and Opal.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents John W. Curry and Mary Alice (Harmon) Curry and Robert Kippes and Joan (Anfang) Kippes.

In lieu of flowers, Ted’s family requests donations be made to the Ted Curry Fund, c/o First Dakota National Bank, PO Box 220, Elk Point, SD 57025 or electronically via Venmo @Ted-Curry-Fund.

Ted Curry; father, husband, brother, son, family, friend, businessman, soldier, is gone from us far too soon, and we mourn the loss of his selfless generosity, world wisdom, cutting analysis, genuine insight, acid wit and affable discontent. How to continue without him is for us to resolve, but we can perhaps take some of Ted’s own advice from a slogan of his political campaign and move #forwardtogether.

Ted was younger than I am. That’s another reason Ted’s passing just isn’t right.

Statute allows District 16 Democrats (that’s Union and the not-northwestern chunk of Lincoln) to put another name on the ballot in the spot Curry was bravely willing to hold against incumbent Republican Senator Jim Bolin. Contrary to DWC’s respectful but concludingly erroneous post, parties have until the second Tuesday in August, August 14 this year, to fill vacancies created by death or withdrawal.