In 2006, the Wichita Eagle named Richard "Dick" A. Curry '49/67 a "Shocker Fan O' the Day." The recognition was no surprise to fellow Shockers, but the headline seemed a bit of a misnomer — Curry was a Shocker fan and active university supporter for more than 50 years.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he graduated from the University of Wichita with a bachelor's degree in economics and then from Wichita State with a master's degree in business administration. He was not the only member of his family to be a Shocker graduate. His brothers, Meuli, Maurice, Tom and Bob, graduated in 1940, 1943, 1948 and 1964, respectively, and four of his and his wife Dee's five children are WSU grads too: Mary Beth '71, Robbie '75/87, Terrie '75/83 and Joe '85.
In 1976, Curry was elected president of the WSU Alumni Association. He continued his leadership on many alumni initiatives and association programs, including Ambassadors for the Alumni Association, a volunteer group formed in 1981 that assisted with membership sales, hosting events and working with the Student Alumni Association. In 1990, he chaired the association's Public Affairs Committee.
Curry, who retired in 1988 from the Coleman Co. after 40 years, joined the company in 1948 as an accounting trainee and went on to rise through the administrative ranks. In 1966, he was elected treasurer, was named a vice president in 1970, elected to the board in 1971 and became senior vice president of finance in 1974. After his retirement, he opened a management consulting firm, providing financial counseling to corporate and institutional clients, including Coleman.
Dick Curry died Oct. 28, 2011 in Wichita.
