The Appalachian
State University community lost one of its own when Michael J. Curry
was found dead in Wilkes County Jan. 21.
Curry was a 22-year-old Watauga County native who attended Appalachian,
where his father, Mark Curry, graduated and his mother, Barbara
M. Cox, is currently employed at Belk Library.
The circumstances of his death were ruled “suspicious”
by the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Department and are subject to
continued investigation, according to the Watauga Democrat.
“Michael was very loyal to his friends and family,” Cox
said. “He was a great athlete, and his coaches loved him. For
some reason, no one wanted to disappoint him. Everyone wanted his
approval, especially little kids.”
His funeral took place Saturday, Jan. 25.
“There was about 800 people there,” Mark Curry said. “A
lot of people cared about Michael.”
Michael Curry participated in a number of sports during his career
at his 1999 alma mater Watauga High School. In fact, prior to transferring
to Appalachian, he was a part of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill’s wrestling team before sustaining several severe
injuries.
“Michael was a man as a freshman in high school,” said
Mike Hudson, Curry’s high school football coach. “On the
field, he was a valiant warrior. As a sophomore he gained 1,600
yards in 10 games, the most ever by a Watauga running back. He was
the leader of that team.”
“He was a world-champion power-lifter, ranked in the world’s
best,” Curry said. “We went down to Disney World for that
[competition]. He was glad to transfer to ASU to be close to his
friends and family.”
“He had this spirit of wanting to have a good time,” Cox
said. “He was really pretty modest, but he was kind of a complicated
individual. It’s hard to describe Michael with words.”
“Michael loved Elvis and country music,” Cox said. “Elvis
was his No. 1, so we decided to play some Elvis [hymns] at his service
… He must’ve had every album Elvis ever released.”
Michael is survived by his parents, brother Kenneth, age 19, and
sister, Jenna, age 16.
In order to assist his family in their time of mourning, two funds
have been set up for donations.
One is the “Michael Curry Memorial Fund” at 251 Forest
Lane, Boone, NC 28607, or the Appalachian State University Staff-Council
Scholarship Fund, care of James Hayes in the campus bookstore. |
