It was THE BEST OF TIMES.
This is how Jack Currey has described his life.
In the well-known verbiage of the river running community, Jack Currey “ran his last rapid” on November 18, 2016. He leaves behind a rich and adventurous legacy of navigating some of the wildest rivers in the world, exploring unknown jungles searching for Mayan ruins, and leasing exotic islands in the paradisiacal waters of the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Most of all, he enjoyed discovering and traversing daily life as an adoring husband, father and grandfather to those of us lucky enough to call him such.
Born Jackie Lee Currey on August 20, 1933 in Valley Falls, Kansas, Jack was the first born and only son, with two younger sisters – Judy and Sandy – joining the family within a few years. At a young age, his parents went their separate ways, and when his father remarried, Jack was blessed to have four more sisters enter his life: Gail, Louise, Linda and Patti.
Jack learned to work at the tender age of nine when he had his first paper route, peddling his bicycle for miles each day, never missing a single delivery. Organized and dedicated to his work, he took his responsibilities seriously. As a youngster, he also worked after school as a dishwasher in a restaurant, and later as a meat butcher, and then a salesman for Pillsbury Mills. While working for Pillsbury, he was transferred to Salt Lake City, Utah where he lived and raised a family from 1958 – 1978. The crowning glory of his vocational work was creating and pioneering his beloved Western River Expeditions company, which ultimately defined his adventurous passion for conquering the impossible.
In his youth, Jack was a superb athlete, playing football as a running back, and also winning the state championship in the 440 meters race as a senior in high school. As an adult, Jack loved the game of handball and was a skilled player. This determination to push himself to excellence as an athlete characterized him throughout his life, and he passed on that spirit of fortitude, dedication and zeal to his children and grandchildren.
It is these same attributes that prompted 29-year-old Jack Currey to travel to Mexico with 15 other men to successfully conquer the uncharted Rio Grijalva in El Sumidero Canyon in December 1962. The fascinating story was featured in Time magazine in January 1963.
The publicity from this monumental achievement, along with the theater release of his film Run the Wild River, allowed Jack’s Western River Expeditions to ultimately become one of the premier river running companies of all time.
Jack continued to explore new rivers and regions of the world. Later, he added adventure packages that included week-long trips camping on exotic islands in Micronesia and British Honduras (now Belize) to scuba dive, snorkel and fish. Midnight excursions of lobster hunting on the beach and subsequent feasts at 2:30 a.m. were a regular occurrence, as well as numerous other unusual and fascinating activities. Everything provided was the very best, and excellence in the details gave Jack Currey the reputation of delivering the finest for his family, friends and clients. Always.
In 1974, Jack invented and patented the J-Rig, a large, neoprene five-pontoon boat to charter the formidable rapids of the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. Created as a stable, compartmentalized boat constructed to transport large numbers of passengers and cargo down the river, and to prevent punctures, swamping and flipping, this proven configuration is still used by Western River Expeditions today.
At one time, Western River Expeditions employed over 100 boatmen, and offered thousands of adventurous passengers every year the thrill and excitement of running some of the wildest rivers North and South America has to offer.
When he tired of the never-ending regulations and restrictions that were being implemented – due to the explosion of popularity of the latest and greatest recreational adventure known as white water rafting – Jack sold Western River Expeditions in three separate transactions in 1977.
With the rush of white water rafting still pulsing through his veins, he continued running rivers as Jack Currey Expeditions until he retired in 2012 at the age of 79.
Jack was a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his first wife Betty Ann joined in 1955 as a result of two young men dressed in dark suits, white shirts and name tags – both with the first name of Elder – knocking on their door. Jack had a strong testimony, and his beliefs were integrated into who he was and the way he conducted himself. Quiet and unassuming, he held strong to his beliefs and taught his children by example, not lecture.
In his later years, Jack was an avid genealogist, filling as many as 33 four-inch binders full of ancestry names, events and photos. Before the last song of the meeting had been sung, the newest baby’s blessing and photo were entered into the Currey genealogy book – colored coded and cross referenced.
Jack is survived by his present wife, Martha, and leaves behind a rich legacy of 10 children: Steven Clark Currey (deceased 2006), Dorine Currey Rivers, Bonnie Currey, Janice Currey, Colleen Currey, Trisha Currey Amerpohl, Julie Ann Currey Holland, Kathryn Currey, Mark Christian Currey, and John Michael Currey, 34 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild, with more posterity still to come.
Jack led an extraordinarily adventurous and memorable life. All that knew and loved him consider themselves to be some of the luckiest that have ever lived. And yes, they were the best of times.