A TRIBUTE TO Betty Curry, 1940-2018
We were sad to learn that Betty Curry died recently.
Mrs. Curry and her late husband Roger Curry were widely recognized as keepers of an Ozark white oak basket making tradition. Both Mr. and Mrs. Curry inherited the tradition from long lines of ancestors (Gibsons of Arkansas in his family and Missouri Derryberrys in hers).*
Photo credit: Fieldworker Jeanette Lowry (on behalf of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center–MFAP’s precursor) took the photo below at the Curry home workshop in July 1986 for archival purposes.
Mrs. Curry carried on the tradition until fairly recently, according to a 2015 article by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann at eMissourian.com. Curry baskets from this Salem, Missouri family have long been prized, as was the knowledge Mrs. Curry shared in her many workshops.
Our heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Curry’s family and friends. RIP
An obituary for Betty Curry can be found here:
https://www.jamesgahrmortuary.com/obituaries/Bessie-Curry/#!/Obituary
*As noted in a brochure from their basket making business in MFAP’s archives.