John H. Curley Jr. of Everett, who served 18 years in the Air Force as an air traffic controller and then went to work for the Postal Service, died October 13. He was 78.
He was born in Somerville, the oldest of six children of John H. Curley Sr. and Margaret (DiBase) Curley, and lived there before moving to Everett. He enlisted in the Air Force after high school. At the Postal Service he started as a letter carrier and retired as a machine mechanic.
He liked to shoot and once belonged to the Malden Gun Club, rode a Harley-Davidson, and kept English springer spaniels, Whittle, Dillon and Jake.
He leaves Donna (Crowley) Curley, his wife of 37 years; his children John H. Curley III of Albany, N.Y., Tracy Aylward and her husband, Daniel, of Exeter, N.H., Scott Curley of Savannah, Ga., Melanie Sheehy and her husband, Brian, of Methuen, William Snow of Springfield, Bryan Snow and his wife, Christine, of Peabody, and Danielle LeClair of Middleton, N.H.; 12 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and a third expected; his siblings Robert Curley, Margaret Francis, Deborah Shea and James Curley; and nieces and nephews. His sister Francine Downey died before him.
Calling hours are Tuesday, October 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the George L. Doherty Funeral Home, 855 Broadway, Powder House Square, Somerville, with a prayer service at 6:30. Burial with military honors is Wednesday, October 21, at 11:30 a.m. at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, N.H.; those going are asked to meet inside the main gate by 11:10. The family suggests donations to the Eastern Springer Spaniel Club or Disabled American Veterans.
Compiled from information published by George L. Doherty Funeral Service, 855 Broadway, Somerville. Photograph courtesy of the family via George L. Doherty Funeral Service. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.