James "Jim" Currie

April 13, 1933 - February 14, 2021

James “JM” Morton Currie died peacefully at his home in Sun City, Arizona, on February 14, 2021, at age 87. The youngest child of Malcolm Edward Currie and Opal Whitney Currie (née Robinson), James was born on April 13, 1933, and raised in Schaller, Sac County, Iowa. Public Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 12:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Schaller. Private burial will be in the Schaller Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be given in Jim’s name to the Schaller Public Library, PO Box 427. Schaller, IA 51053. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Schaller is in charge of the arrangements. His small town childhood included sports, kidding around with friends, and work including fence painting and delivering ice from the train that used to run through Schaller. While in school, Jim enjoyed the friendly competition of his aunt Mamie’s typing class and played the tuba -- despite not being able to read music. In some sense, his childhood was cut short when his older sister, Harriet, was killed tragically by a firework during the 4th of July, 1948, display in neighboring Storm Lake, IA. Following his graduation from Schaller High School in 1950, James joined the class of 1954 at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he majored in Economics, played football, and met lifelong friends. It was at Carleton where he met Margaret “Peggy” Jane Gilbert. They met in the fall of 1952 at the “Cave” when Jim and his football friends dropped in during a freshman orientation mixer. At that first meeting, amidst the dancing, they set a date for the movies and were virtually inseparable until James was drafted into the Army in May 1953. He completed basic training at Fort Riley, KS, and served during the Korean War in Japan until his discharge in May of 1955. When he returned to Carleton that fall, he and Peg renewed their romance and were engaged in December at Sunset Park in Storm Lake, IA. The two were married on February 4, 1956, at Knox Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis during winter break of their senior year. After a brief honeymoon at a northern Minnesota lodge that didn’t live up to the promises of the marketing pamphlet, they returned to Northfield to finish college and start their life together. Upon graduation in 1956, James accepted an offer to become a bank examiner with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and they relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana. Their first child, Scott Gilbert, was born there in December of 1956. His career with the Federal Reserve Bank moved them to Evanston, IL, for training in July of 1957 and then to Ames, IA, in January of 1958 to serve as Iowa Representative for the Fed. In that relationship-building role, Jim visited member banks throughout the state of Iowa. Their second child, Bret Douglas, was born in Ames in January of 1959. In spring of that same year, the family moved to Schaller, IA, where Jim started work at the State Bank of Schaller where his dad had worked until his death the previous summer. His mother died the following spring. As Jim grew into the role of small town banker, their family also grew with the birth of Grant James in 1964 and Lynn Margaret in 1969. They dove headfirst into Schaller life, where Jim took his turn in leadership roles in the Chamber of Commerce and the Schaller Presbyterian Church, as a member and 8-time champion of the men’s bridge club, as members of the couple’s bridge club, and attending every one of their children’s school events. In 1964, he and Peg acquired Panther Farm and began to raise and ultimately breed and show horses. Many family weekends were spent competing in shows. The pinnacle of his horse showing career was winning, with his horse Diamond, the Amateur Walking Horse Class at the 1974 Des Moines Spring Horse Show. He loved introducing friends and family to horses. Travel was a big part of Jim and Peg’s life together, whether on their own, with family or friends, or through Elderhostels. Jim also loved relaxing by the lake. Summer vacations with family or friends were spent at Lake Okoboji, IA. In 1981, he and Peg traded horse show life for summers at Lake Okoboji when they bought their house on Dixon Beach. It is to there, and to a home in AZ, that Jim retired from banking in 1998. Arizona life focused on exploring the world with Peg, attending talks and musical events, playing competitive and friendly bridge, completing woodworking projects, gathering with friends, and supporting Peg’s art and genealogical research. After Peg’s death in 2002, he began work on a book about their 50 years together. Jim will be remembered for his ready smile and good-natured teasing, a door that was always open for visitors, his quiet generosity, and his devotion to Peg and his family. Jim welcomed people into his life for who they were, without judgement. Because of this, he developed friendships that endured through distance and time. Jim could often be found in the middle of a group of friends or family from different parts of his life. Those gatherings usually included a hand-crafted margarita along with a competitive game of bridge, cribbage, or in-between. Whenever extended family gathered, he could be found throwing elbows and trash-talking in a spirited game of peanuts. He was preceded in death by his wife Margaret “Peggy” Gilbert Currie, brothers Gordon (Virginia) Robinson Currie, Edward MacGregor Currie, Douglas Eugene Currie, and a sister, Harriet Ann Currie. James is survived by his children Scott Gilbert (Lorna Evans) Currie of Schaller, IA; Bret Douglas Currie of Topeka, KS; Grant James Currie of Canton, NY; and Lynn Margaret (Tracy Hamm Warnecke) Currie of Madison, WI. He was very proud and supportive of each of his grandchildren: Michael Currie (Scott), Ryan Currie (Scott), Loren Pawelski (Lynn), Aoife Currie (Grant), Parker Currie (Scott), Gilbert Pawelski (Lynn), and Jillian Warnecke (Lynn). He is also very fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews around the country.