Allan Currie

Allan Louis Currie

Born August 30, 1930 in Gull Lake Saskatchewan

Died May 11, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario

Allan lived in Verlo Saskatchewan until he entered secondary school at the age of 12 in nearby Gull Lake. He attended Regina College in 1952 before transferring to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon where he completed his B.A. and M.A. in Chemistry. Allan then moved to Montreal where he completed a Ph.D. in Chemistry in the late 1950s from McGill University. Allan subsequently moved to Ottawa to work for the National Research Council before accepting a position at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto where he taught for the next 30 years.

He married Patricia Kelly in June 1965 and they lived in Toronto briefly before purchasing their first and only home together in Clarkson, Mississauga in 1968. They had two daughters, Fiona and Deirdre. Allan subsequently completed training at the University of Guelph in 1979 in order to teach microbiology. Allan retired in the early 1990s and continued to pursue his many hobbies including vegetarianism, environmentalism, travel, politics, genealogy, math puzzles, investing, computers, playing the recorder, guitar, mandolin and xaphoon, magnets and languages, especially Spanish. Allan considered himself to be a lifelong learner who loved to share his knowledge with others. He was an optimist and a humanitarian and often proclaimed that he never met a dessert he didn’t like. He embraced new technology and experiences even after Patricia died in 1998. He moved to the Distillery District in Toronto soon after, followed by the Grenadier Retirement Residence several years later and then finally to West Park Long Term Care. Even in his final weeks and days, Allan continued to engage with others and continued to learn. Although he was an iconoclast, Allan was highly sentimental about his roots and his family. He often quoted the poem by author unknown “There are two things we should give our children: one is roots and the other is wings.” Allan certainly was successful in both regards.

He is predeceased by his parents, Dougald Currie & Mary (Lewis) Currie of Saskatchewan, wife Patricia Kelly and sisters-in-law Bonnie and Jeannette Currie. He is survived by his daughters, Fiona (Gary) & Deirdre (Craig) and grandchildren Emma, Jacob, Alistair & Campbell as well as his siblings Beverley, Norris (Dot), Floyd (Doreen), Dave (Gloria) and Kathyrn (John) and many nieces and nephews.

Allan’s final resting place is at Springcreek Cemetery in Clarkson, Mississauga. Donations in his honour may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, Humber River Regional Hospital or to any charity which supports the environment.