Obituary of Carole Ann McCurley

Carole McCurley (nee Richards) was born on March 5, 1937 in Ogden, Utah. As a young girl, she suffered the loss of her father in WW2 and spent several years travelling the west in Utah, Idaho, and California with her mother, Doris Richards/Galante (nee Leavitt) and sister Charlene.  She often shared fond memories of the western landscapes she saw as a young girl, such as the striking snow-covered Wasatch Mountains, the stark beauty of the Great Salt Lake, or the rolling farmland and tidy orchards of St Helena, CA.  Carole made her way to Maryland when her mother and her stepfather, Joseph Galante, moved with her daughters to Maryland.   Carole gained three more siblings, Christopher, Cathy, and Larry Galante.

 

Carole graduated from Seton High School in Baltimore and then graduated from Mercy Nursing School as an RN.  She worked for over 30 years as a nurse, most of the time at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore City.  Carol loved nursing, and she spent much of her career working in the charity ward of the hospital.  Never one to sit still, Carole retired from nursing and she and Charley bought a travel agency in Timonium.  They spent the next 20 years seeing the world.  She was always planning, talking and dreaming about her next trip. 

 

Carole Richards met Charley McCurley while she was in nursing school.  He admired early on Carole’s “spark” and a love of life. Carole and Charley were married for 62 years and had four children.  Carole truly enjoyed and loved her family – she was a wonderful mother and proud grandmother.  

 

Carole is preceded in death by her father, Walter Richards, her mother, Doris Galante and her stepfather, Joseph Galante.  Carole is survived by her loving husband of 62 years Charles McCurley, and her four children: Kevin (Sheila) McCurley, Erin McCurley Kemp, Sheila (Darrin) McKenna, and Mary McCurley (Greg Johnston).   Carole has 8 grandchildren Alexandra, Hailey and Jacob Kemp, Brendan McCurley, Fiona and Plum Johnston, and Jackson McKenna.  She also had one special great grandchild, Henry James Herrera.  Carole is survived by sister Catherine Welzenbach, and brothers Christopher Galante and Larry Galante. She is preceded in death by her sister Charlene Calder. 

 

Carole died on September 5, 2021.   A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at future date.