Former East District BOD member passes on to glory

Kenneth Lyell Currie

KANATA, Ontario – Kenneth Lyell Currie, who served Lutheran Church–Canada’s former East District as a longtime board member, passed on to glory on April 19, 2021 at the age of 86. The cause of death was mesothelioma.

Ken played an active role in church life, serving on the Board of Directors of Lutheran Church–Canada’s East District for 20 years, including nine years as chair and six years as secretary. He led the campaign to establish Lutherwood from 1965-1967 and served as a director for nine years. He also served as a congregational chair or treasurer for many years. He sang tenor with the Ottawa Choral Society for decades, as well as singing with his church choir and the Ottawa Brahms Choir.

Ken was born on Sept. 7, 1934 in Peterborough, Ontario to Marion and Victor Currie. In 1956 he graduated from Queens University with distinction and a B.Sc. in geological engineering. In 1959, he received a Ph.D. for the first degree in theoretical geology granted by the University of Chicago. He liked to say that it was also the shortest dissertation that his department had ever accepted. He was in a hurry to complete his dissertation before his marriage to Edrith Rohwer on June 13, 1959. 

Ken joined the Geological Survey of Canada in 1960. His career allowed him to combine theoretical research with his love of field geology. Many summers were spent in remote areas reachable only by pontoon plane. While away, he wrote Edrith faithfully, describing the scenery, wildlife, adventures, and misadventures in his wilderness camps. Travelling largely on foot, he created geological maps of more than 33,000 km² in the Canadian shield, British Columbia, and the Maritimes. His work in the Maritimes involved tracing the places where the North American and European “plates” had touched.

Because of his expertise on craters, he was appointed as a scientific investigator for the historic Apollo XI mission; as such he was one of the few to study the moon rocks. A career highlight was arranging a Canada-USSR scientific exchange in 1978. The exchange seemed impossible because there was no currency conversion between dollars and rubles. However, Ken realized that if Russian scientists used rubles to pay the expenses of the Canadian scientists in Russia and vice-versa, no currency would need to be exchanged. His children remember his lab and marvels such as a machine that would turn peanut butter (carbon) into diamonds via high pressure.

In his last years he enjoyed singing barbershop with “Aged in Harmony.” While at Chicago, he was on the varsity basketball team and was captain of both the swim team and the water-polo team. He received the university’s Amos Alonso Stagg award for the best all-around record for athletics, scholarship, and character. He continued to swim regularly to the end of his life. Ken was known for his cheerful disposition and determined optimism.

Ken was preceded in death by his beloved wife Edrith after 57 years of marriage, and by his sister Margaret McBurney. He is greatly missed by his sister Helen Gordon, his children David, Ruth (Lones), Joan (Charles), James (Lois), and Janet (Bentley), and by his grandchildren, Phileas, Titus, Matthias (Paige), Naomi, and Isaac Smith; Paul, Anna, and Elizabeth (Neil) Currie; and Ben and River MacLeod.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Risen Lutheran Church in Kanata at 10:30 on Sept. 25, 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Lutherwood or to Christ Risen. 

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