John Joseph Curran

Mr. Curran, of Hammonton, passed away after a lengthy illness on January 12, 2009. Jack was born on December 23, 1925 in Newport, RI, to the late Michael and Nora Hurley Curran who immigrated from Counties Kerry and Cork Ireland respectively. A Navy veteran of WWII V12 Program at Holy Cross and MIT, Mr. Curran moved with his family to Moorestown, New Jersey in 1958 to work as an electrical engineer with RCA on the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System project, often referred to as the Ball. He then worked on several projects related to the burgeoning space program, including several communication devices associated with lunar missions. He concluded his professional career with NWL in Bordentown. He attended Holy Cross College receiving a BS in Social Sciences, and later attended Drexel University where he received a BS in Electrical Engineering. Mr. Curran enjoyed reading, camping, chess and great debates on history, politics and gamesmanship.He is survived by his wife, Frances Pat Buffington Curran, his sister, Barbara Philbrick of Middletown, RI, his sons Michael, Joel and Ned and five grandchildren, Benjamin, Matthew, Brody, Jackie and Katy. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Bettyann. His extensive book collection was donated to the Hammonton Public Library and the family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in his name to the Atlantic County Library Foundation - Hammonton Branch, 40 Farragut Avenue, Mays Landing, NJ 08330.