Allan Currie
Allan John "Al" Currie, born 12 July 1943, is a retired Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, flight instructor, and avionics technician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
He has 14 step-descendants and at least 9 biological descendants.
Early Life
Currie was born to Jean and Clyde Currie on 12 July 1943.
Currie attended university on a sponsorship by the Canadian Armed Forces. He graduated 1966 with a BSc in Electrical Engineering (Electronics).
First Marriage
He married Jackie Gregory in 1965. They had four children:
- June Marie (born 18 February 1966), with a daughter and two grandchildren.
- Michael Allan (born 18 October 1968), with an unknown number of issue.
- Ian John (born 25 October 1974), with two children.
- Jason Robert (born 7 March 1976), no issue.
Allan and Jackie divorced in 1980. At the time the children were aged 14, 12, 6, and 4. Jackie kept custody of their children, remarried, and moved around frequently in Manitoba. However, once the children left home they all settled down in Winnipeg.
Second Marriage
In 1986, Currie remarried, to Yvonne Carol Narozniak. He was a male influence in their lives, but did not adopt her three daughters from her two previous marriages:
- Debbie Zamonsky (from her first marriage)
- Laura Johnson (from her second marriage)
- Angel Budge (from her second marriage)
These girls have all reproduced, so Allan also as of 2019 has six step-grandchildren, and five step-great-grandchildren (Preston Zamonsky's two boys and Lisa Zamonsky's three children).
His second wife Yvonne died in 2003. Since then he has stayed a bachelor.
Biological grandchildren
As of 2018 he also has at least three grandchildren:
- Desiree Hunt (born 1985), by June
- Mabel Currie (born 2001), by Ian
- Matthew Currie (born 2004), by Ian
As of 2018 he also has at least two great-grandchildren:
- Aiden Stefak (born 2006), by Desiree
- Kiersten Stefak (born 2010), by Desiree
In summary, he has 4 children, at least 3 grandchildren, and at least 2 great-grandchildren, for a total of at least 9 biological descendants (and 11 step-descendants).
Career
After his graduation in 1966 Currie went through pilot training. He served with NATO in Germany flying the supersonic Canadair CF-104 Starfighter from 1968 to 1970.
In 1970, he served in Lubbock, Texas for 3 years as an instructor on the T-37 basic jet trainer.
From 1973, he worked in Cold Lake, Alberta as an instructor on T-33 aircraft. Later, he worked as a Tactical Fighter Instructor on the CF-5 aircraft. Currie flew the CF-5 with Squadron 419 alongside Squadron 434. Squadron 419 was the training squadron while Squadron 434 was the operational squadron. Squadron 434 was Currie's Uncle Neill's old wartime squadron.
From 1977 to 1979, he served in Winnipeg as the Aide to the Base Commander, Base Information Officer and oversaw all the military students at universities from Brandon to Lakehead.
In 1979, he flew as an instructor on the Instrument Check Pilot School in Winnipeg, flying the CT-114 Tutor aircraft (as flown by the Snowbirds Air Demonstration Team) and the DC-3 twin engine propeller aircraft.
In 1980, he was transferred to Edmonton, Alberta, to train on the C-130 Hercules transport. However, he "really didn't want to fly the Hercs", and this, combined with a desire to be closer to his children in Winnipeg, led to his decision to retire from the Royal Canadian Air Force after 20 years, in 1982, and return to Winnipeg.
He took a Computer Tech Course at Red River College, and from 1984 to 1992 he worked in computer sales, service and managed a computer centre, in the early years of the Personal Computer era.
In 1992 he moved to Bristol Aerospace, who were overhauling the CF-5 aircraft he previously flew. Their overhaul included a total rewiring of the plane.
In 1994, as this contract was winding down, he "jumped ship" to Air Canada Technical Services in Winnipeg and worked as an Avionics Technician. There, he was involved in the overhaul of the Airbus A319/320/321 aircraft. This work "included all aspects of electrical work from replacing light bulbs, installing new systems like the inflight entertainment and testing and solving problems with systems like the Flight Management Guidance."
Currie retired from Air Canada Technical Services in July 2008.
Retirement
As of 2018, Currie maintains an active lifestyle:
- In summers, Currie travels with his Shih Tzu [1], Brandi, and his trailer throughout Canada and the USA for 8-12 weeks.
- In winters, five days a week he subjects himself to a robust training regimen: Zumba, Strength Training, Yoga, Cardio/Weights/Bands/Balance and Line Dancing.
Sources
Private email from Allan sent July 2018 to Michael Currie