Death of a Classmate - Captain Richard Andrews "Dick" Currier - 11th Co.

 

 Captain Richard Andrews "Dick" Currier, USN, Retired, 83, of Saint Marys, Georgia died Thursday, July 9th, 2015 at Southeast Georgia Health System / Camden Campus of Congestive Heart Failure complicated by Pulmonary Edema and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. He was preceded in death by his parents, Reginald Harris Currier and the former Frances Alburn Andrews, a brother, Norman Harris Currier, and his Navy Wife, the former Betty Arlen McIntyre. He is survived by a brother, Robert Sherman Currier, and his children, Christopher Andrews Currier and Catherine Leigh Currier. Captain Currier was born March 19th, 1932 in Beverly, Massachusetts, the birthplace of the American Navy! He was active in scouting as a young boy. He graduated from Beverly High School in 1950 and then the United States Naval Academy in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree! Upon his commissioning, Captain Currier served aboard the Destroyer USS Brown ( DD 546 ) home ported in San Diego, CA before graduating from Submarine School in New London, CT in 1956. His first submarine duty was aboard the USS Grampus ( SS 523 ) in Norfolk, VA where he met and married Betty Arlen in 1958. They enjoyed fifty three years of marriage! After graduating from the Navy's Nuclear Power Propulsion School in 1959, he was then assigned, back in New London, to the USS Scorpion ( SSN589 ). Later, he served aboard the USS Tinosa ( SSN 606 ), again in Norfolk, the USS John Adams ( SSBN 620 ) in Portsmouth, NH and the USS Andrew Jackson ( SSBN 624 ) in Rota, Spain. Captain Currier's first submarine command was aboard the USS Sea Devil ( SSN 664 ) home ported in Norfolk, VA, during which he earned the Navy Commendation Medal and a Meritorious Unit Commendation. His second command was aboard the USS Daniel Webster ( SSBN 626 ) home ported in Guam, during which he earned the Meritorious Service Medal and a second Meritorious Unit Commendation. Altogether, Captain Currier served aboard one surface ship and seven submarines while completing seventeen successful deterrent patrols and / or deployments at sea. From 1973 till 1977, Captain Currier served as Deputy Commander for Readiness of Submarine Squadron Ten in New London, CT where he earned a second Meritorious Service Medal. From 1977 till 1979, Captain Currier served as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Material for Acquisition Logistics in Washington D. C. where he earned a third Meritorious Service Medal. In 1979, Captain Currier received orders to command the former Submarine Support Base, Kings Bay. During his command and against some significant community opposition, Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay became fully operational and home port to Submarine Squadron Sixteen. Captain Currier's final tour of duty, at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in NH, took him close to home where Family and Friends could join the Captain and his Navy Wife at a Surprise 25th Wedding Anniversary Party hosted by their children in 1983. After retirement in 1984, Dick and Betty returned to the Kings Bay area, in Southeast Georgia, where they enjoyed a Real Estate career together with Century 21, Tri-City Realty. Throughout his life, Captain Currier was proud to serve our Nation and the Civic Organizations he volunteered for in the communities he called home. He loved his Family and Friends. He enjoyed traveling, attending sporting events, gardening and caring for the numerous stray cats that he took in. He truly left a Legacy of a Life Well Lived! To learn more about this Cold War Warrior who was proud to be able to say I never fired an angry shot!, please join his Family and Friends at a Celebration of Life / Memorial Service with Full Military Honors, 11:30 am, Saturday, August 29th, 2015 at Allison Memorial Chapel, 10141 Colerain Road, Saint Marys, Georgia 31558 / 912-729-5000. At a later date, the ashes of both Captain Currier and his Navy Wife, Betty Arlen, will be placed together at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial Donations in Captain Currier's name can be addressed to the Saint Marys Submarine Museum, 102 Saint Marys Street West, Saint Marys, Georgia 31558 / 912-882-2782.

Published in the Florida Times-Union on Aug. 27, 2015