James Thomas Curran

Curran, James Thomas – Of Reading, February 1st. Beloved husband of Florence T. (Petrone). Loving father of Jean Curran and her husband Robert Mahoney of Ipswich, James Curran and his wife Maura of Hanson, Stephen Curran and his wife Cathleen of Wakefield and Andrea Curley and her husband Christopher of Lynnfield. Son of the late Francis S. Curran and Katherine (Campbell). Dear brother of Helen and Richard and the late Jeanette, Andrew, Mary, Margie, John, Kay, Anita, Gertie and Brendan. Cherished grandfather of Emily, Matthew, Thomas, Stephanie, Joseph, Caroline, Michael, Brennan and Collin. James is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Jim cherished time with his family.  The light of his world were his grandchildren.  He was the proudest “papa”, “grandpa”, and “pop”.  He was happiest surrounded by his grandchildren.  His eyes lit up when they were with him.  He loved going to the local parks, libraries, and family events where he could “show off” his grandchildren.  He would do anything for them….including “shagging” basketballs so that they could continue shooting hoops.

Besides time spent with family he enjoyed singing in the St. Agnes Choir and being an Acolyte at the church.  He also worked for the Archdiocese as an investigator after his retirement.

During his career of 34 years he was one of Boston’s Finest! He retired in 2000 as a Lieutenant Detective and worked in many areas of the City and in a number of Units including the Homicide Division and the Special Investigations Unit. He loved his job and the many people he met along the way.  He was known as a kind, compassionate, honest, and fair police officer.  He also attended college while he worked and raised a family to attain his Bachelor’s Degree at Boston State.

He was born and grew up in Roxbury before he went to High School in upstate New York.  He attended the seminary in Wenham before his service in the Army.  Before joining the police department he was a Sand Hog for the City of Boston building the Callahan Tunnel. After he met our mom and married they lived in East Boston and Roslindale before moving to Reading with their expanded family of four children.

After his retirement he was involved in St. Agnes Parish life.  He joined a men’s prayer group and enjoyed spending Saturday mornings with the group.  In recent weeks he joined the guys on ZOOM and was grateful for their encouragement. 

Our family would like to acknowledge Care Dimensions and the compassionate care they provided. Cecelia, Ester, Rachel, Jocelyn, and Hilary and the entire staff were such a help as we navigated the last several months.  On a daily basis, our cousin Janice and family friend Shannon also cared for him. They were kind and wonderful with him and he appreciated all that they did for him and with him. 

Our family would like to acknowledge all the friends and family who offered encouragement to us these last six months in the way of cards, kind words, and food. 

A very, special thank you to Bill Squires.  The physical therapy he gave dad helped him stand, walk, and climb stairs.  But beyond that, Bill’s work with our dad, gave him so much more…the gift of time. This without a doubt extended our time with him.

 A Funeral Mass will be held at the St. Agnes Church, 186 Woburn St., Reading on Friday February 5th at 10:30am. For live streaming of the funeral mass please visit http://readingcatholic.org/ . Interment Puritan Lawn, Peabody. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Mary’s Meals www.marysmealsusa.org  and Saint Agnes Church 186 Woburn St, Reading, MA 01867.

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