Wayne Curry
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Wayne Keith Curry (January 6, 1951 – July 2, 2014) was an American politician. He was elected as the executive for
Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...
in November 1994, and served two terms as the county executive from December 1994 to December 2002. His career encompassed government,
civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...
, and community affairs for more than 20 years.


Early life and education

Curry was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 6, 1951, and grew up in Cheverly, Maryland, where his family was among the first non- white families to integrate into this community in the 1950s. His father was a school teacher, and his mother was a homemaker and later an office secretary. He and his older brother, Daryl Curry, were the first black students to attend Cheverly-Tuxedo Elementary School in 1959. Curry earned his
high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
from
Bladensburg High School Bladensburg High School is a public high school located in Bladensburg, Maryland, United States. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district. The school serves: the towns of Blad ...
in 1968. In 1972, Curry earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Western Maryland College, where he was president of the freshman class. In 1969, Curry was on the junior varsity basketball team. Following graduation, he worked as a teacher and director of the Child Daycare Center of Prince George's County. In 1974, Curry took a hiatus from the professional area, and traveled across the United States. He earned money working at truck stops and slept at campsites throughout the country.


Career

From 1975 until 1978, Curry worked in the administration of Prince George's County Executive Winfield Kelly. Kelly was the executive for Prince George's County from 1974 until 1978. Curry's career began as a staffer responsible for writing constituent reply mail. He later went on to serve as community affairs assistant, administrative assistant to the county's Chief Administrative Officer and senior assistant to the executive. While working for Kelly, he also attended law school at night, earning his
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1980, graduating with honors. From 1980 until 1983, he worked as a real estate and development
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
for the "Michael Companies". In 1984, Curry started his own law practice and became a well-known, successful corporate attorney. From 1984 to 1992, Curry was General Counsel for "Dimensions Health Corporation", a major
healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
business that operates Prince George's General Hospital Center, the
Laurel Regional Hospital University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center was a community hospital located in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, near Laurel. The facility now operates as a free-standing Emergency Department and outpatient clinical and surgical c ...
, and the Bowie Health Center. In 1994, he returned to the county executive's office and made history when he became the first African American to serve in the County's highest elected office. He served two consecutive terms from December 1994 to December 2, 2002. Curry served on Governor Robert Ehrlich's 2002 transition team into the Governor's Mansion. Curry was appointed Commissioner to the Maryland Port Commission in 2003 by Gov. Ehrlich, a Republican. He was prominently mentioned in the news media as a speculative candidate for
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
when Ehrlich ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2006, although
Kristen Cox Kristen Cox (born Kristen Eyring, Bellevue, Washington) is an American business executive, university fellow and instructor, keynote speaker, published author, trainer, consultant, and co-founder of The Fulcrum. Cox is a fellow and instructor at ...
was eventually chosen as Ehrlich's running mate.


Death

Curry died in Upper Marlboro, Maryland on July 2, 2014, from lung cancer at the age of 63.


Personal life

Curry was married to Sheila Curry and had two children.


References


External links


Wayne K. Curry
at the ''Maryland State Archives''
''Changing the Face of the County, the Wayne K. Curry Story''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Wayne 1951 births 2014 deaths Politicians from Brooklyn Western Maryland College alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni Maryland lawyers African-American people in Maryland politics Maryland Democrats Prince George's County, Maryland Executives 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century Maryland politicians 21st-century Maryland politicians