Jack Currie
John William "Jack" Currie (10 June 1915 - 24 January 2009) was Canadian salesman, the eldest son of Alex Currie and Anna Snook. He grew up in Manitoba and spent much of his adult life in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Early life
He was born 10 June 1915 in Port Arthur to Alex and Anna Currie and moved with his family to Fort Gary, Manitoba, a suburb of Winnipeg, in 1917. [1]
Music
Jack played clarinet from a young age. In the mid-1930s, he played clarinet professionally with an orchestra or band — likely the best or only type of work available to him during the Depression. [8]
He was a lifelong fan of jazz and big band music. One of his few but favourite record albums was Benny Goodman's famous 16 January 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, a collection of several 78 rpm platters. His grandson Michael Currie gave him a Benny Goodman music collection as a Christmas present in the mid-2000s. [8] [9]
Bill Currie recalled only seeing his father play once: around 1947/48, when the family was living at 938 Byng Place in Winnipeg, they and their American neighbours were sitting on their respective front steps. It was the 4th of July, so Jack fetched his clarinet and played "The Star-Spangled Banner" for them. Bill remembered being surprised and impressed by his playing. [8]
Jack's clarinet was later played by his son Bill in the PACI school band. [8]
Marriage and family
He first met his future wife Lucy Cooke when she was about 12 years old (in about 1929) and also living in Transcona; but then several years later met again and began a romantic relationship. They married on 3 June 1939 in Winnipeg, when she was 21 and he was 24.
Together they had three sons:
World War 2
Currie was in a motorcycle accident before the war (he was in the Army at the time). He enlisted in the Air Force about 1942/3 and was posted as a radio operator in the Queen Charlotte Islands till war's end. His wife Lucy took her two sons Bill and Doug for a visit in spring 1945. (There are photos available from Bill Currie.) [2]
Career
Overview
Jack was involved in the residential heating industry from the 1930s until his retirement in the late 1970s.
The heating of residential homes in Northern Ontario and Winnipeg was a highly dynamic industry in the 1930s - 1960s. During this time, technologies changed from first coal, to oil, and finally natural gas. Natural Gas was in Winnipeg before it was in Port Arthur, because the pipeline had yet to be built.
One notable aspect of natural gas was the need to build an extensive network pipes in every single back lane of Port Arthur, leading into every home. This was an enormous task that took many years. However, it was done entirely via private investors and private businesses - perhaps because heating gas is not a "public good" in the sense that anyone could free-ride on it. So unlike public roads, natural gas was paid for and traceable to the individual person.
After natural gas started to be delivered, the industry stabilized and even up to the 2020s it remains the primary energy delivery system for heating in homes.
Furnasman
In the 1930s or 1940s, Jack and his brother Clyde worked for Charles Helyar's Furnasman business in Winnipeg as salesmen and/or installers. [2] [3] Their boss Charles in fact ended up marrying their sister, Flora Helyar (later divorcing in the 1940s, however.)
Combustionaire
In the spring of 1951, Jack and one or more partners started a company called Combustionaire that sold, installed, and maintained heating systems, similar to (and in competition with) Furnasman. [2]
During this period, the Currie family moved from Byng Place to a larger house on Waterford Avenue in Winnipeg. The business lasted about a year before going bankrupt. [2]
"Combustionaire Ltd." appears in the Henderson's Winnipeg Directory (1953) listing the following employees:
- Joseph Antoine Campeau (February 5, 1932 - June 15, 2019), tinsmith, Combustionaire Ltd., St. Norbert [4]
- Robert R. Kinread (born 1912), salesman, Combustionaire Ltd., house #1, 455 Greenwood Place, Winnipeg
Combustionaire Ltd. does not appear anywhere in the 1952 or 1954 directories, so it did indeed disappear quickly.
Ron Currie remembers his mother Lucy quite traumatized about this business failure but also quite proud that they were able to eventually pay all debts owed, primarily by selling their new large house and living in humble circumstances for several years.
Aikenhead
Following the bankruptcy, the Currie family moved in with Jack's sister Aunt Flora at her house in St. Vital. Jack took a sales job with Aikenhead, a hardware company. They lived there for about a year before moving to Ellesmere Avenue (still in St. Vital) in the summer of 1953, where they remained for approximately 8-9 months. [2]
North Star Oil
Jack took a job with North Star Oil in Port Arthur, Ontario, and so in the spring of 1954 the family moved to Port Arthur (50 McKibbin Street). [2]
Initially this house (or a previous, company house?) was, ironically, "poorly heated", according to Ron Currie.
Centra Gas
Eventually, Jack got a job at Centra Gas (coinciding with the change from oil -> gas) and eventually rose to be head of sales prior to his retirement in the late 1970s.
Family
Jack was somewhat annoyed that his eldest son Bill just missed having his wedding on 3 June 1964, which would have made it exactly 25 years after his own, and exactly 50 years after his father's. Instead, Bill married Eleanor Isabel Jibb 17 days too late, on 20 June 1964.
Jack had a close relationship with his niece Lillias Bjornson, daughter of his sister Flora. Lillias lived with Jack and Lucy for a year as a child, and the families regularly holidayed together at Trout Lake in the Whiteshell area, not far from Kenora, along with other family members including Uncle Neill, the Gillises, and Grandma Currie. Jack and Lucy always visited Lillias when they came to Winnipeg from Port Arthur. [3]
He and his wife lived on Surprise Lake in the 1980s. In the 1990s they moved to Academy Towers (now called Bayview Towers) in Thunder Bay. In the 2000s they lived in "The Heritage" (part of St. Joseph's Care Group). His wife Lucy died in May 2003. He remained at The Heritage for a few more years. Finally, as his health failed in 2008 and 2009, he lived at Dawson Court Home for the Aged.
Personality
Currie was known to the end of his days for his sharp wit and undiminished libido. He was on his deathbed in 2009 and being visited by his three sons at his bedside. A young nurse came into the room and asked if he needed anything. His immediate response: "Yes - I'd like less of them, and more of you!"
Another story - he was in the long-term care and Bill and Doug had come up for a visit and so the three boys were watching him and he was in the bed or in a wheelchair. His three boys were telling something and Doug had just told a long story, and finished with "Dad, what do you think about that?" And Grandpa Jack replied, "Oh! Was I supposed to be listening?"
Obituary
John William Currie, aged 93 years passed away January 24, 2009 at TBHSC [Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre]. He was born in Port Arthur on June 10, 1915. He grew up and was educated in Manitoba where he met his future wife, Lucy Cooke. They were married in 1939, a marriage that lasted for nearly 63 years until Lucy's death in 2003. In 1954 they moved with their three boys to Thunder Bay. "Jack" spent his working days in the heating industry in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, first in coal-fired furnaces, then oil and finally in natural gas. When he retired he was the sales manager at the Northern Central Gas Company in Thunder Bay. He was a past president of the Port Arthur Gyro Club and of the Thunder Bay Home Builders Association as well a director with the Kiwanis Club of Port Arthur. For many years he and Lucy sang in the choir at Trinity United Church [1]. During the 1980's they lived at Surprise Lake and were a central part of the social life there. Jack was predeceased by his parents, Alex and Anna Currie, his wife Lucy, his sisters Marian and Flora, and his brothers Clyde and Neill. He is survived by sons Bill (Eleanor), Doug (Loraine) and Ron (Mary Ann), grandchildren Janet (Owen), Dave (Jackie), Ian (Jasmine), Jeff (Bonnie), Michael and Carolyn, and eight great-grand children. Many thanks for the kind and considerate care given by the CCAC [Community Care Access Centre] as well as the wonderful staff at St. Joseph's Heritage and Dawson Court. Cremation has taken place and a family memorial service is being planned for a later date."
Sources
[1] Alex Currie article, Curriepedia
[2] Bill Currie, emails in 2026
[3] Lillias Bjornson, emails in 2026
[4] Henderson's Winnipeg Directory (1953)
[5] https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-265437/CAMPEAU_JOSEPH
[6] https://www.furnasmanright-time.ca/
[7] https://archive.org/details/P000921-4-34/page/1580/mode/2up?q=combustion
[8] Bill Currie, email to Michael Currie, January 2021
[9] Michael Currie