Doreatha M. Curry

Doreatha M. Curry was the fifth child born to Willie Lyons, Sr. and Thelma Lyons on November 22, 1940 in Watonga, Oklahoma. She was not given a middle name, but would later decide she liked the name Marie and used it. Doreatha attended segregated Dunbar School, then Watonga High School, after it was desegregated, and earned a degree in Business Administration from San Diego City College. Growing up in Watonga, Doreatha’s family lived on a farm. After her older brothers had entered the military, and older sister had left home for college, she and her younger sister were left to help their parents who were also sharecroppers and entrepreneurs who raised and sold chickens. Doreatha learned to drive a tractor, had her own horse, Black Beauty, and tormented her little sister by chasing her with the heads of chickens removed to prepare them for “dressing”. After moving into town, Doreatha attended Watonga High School. She was a standout vocalist in glee club and choral performances. Those skills were honed at her family’s church, Watonga’s Church of God in Christ, where she was baptized and saved at an early age. Drawn in by the secular music of the 50s, Doreatha decided that she wanted to become a singer. Before he was shipped out to the Philippines, Doreatha married her high school sweetheart, Charles Curry, who had joined the Navy. He would eventually be stationed at the naval base in San Diego. Doreatha was determined to earn enough money to purchase a car, even though she had been turned down for a job at the town’s Woolworth that did not serve black people at its lunch counter. With money she had earned from picking cotton and working at RB’s Steakhouse, Doreatha purchased a new car right off the dealership’s showroom floor. It was a white Pontiac Bonneville, nicked named “the bomb”, by her husband when she drove it to meet him in California. Once in California, Doreatha continued to seek opportunities to pursue a career in singing. She headlined a band performing at local venues in San Diego. After the couple had their first daughter, Doreatha even brought her little girl to rehearsals. The group would later disband. Doreatha took the opportunity to get training as a key punch/data entry operator. She would go on to be employed in this capacity with both the U.S. Naval Supply Center and the City and County of San Diego. Once retired, Doreatha pursued business opportunities in sales of desserts featuring her own signature peach cobbler. Doreatha packed a big personality in such a petite frame. She lived on her own terms in her later years, travelling with her family, driving her Nissan 280ZX, and gardening in high heels. Doreatha believed everyone is born with their own special gifts. She encouraged and supported her children, grandchildren, family members, and young people to use their gifts to achieve excellence and happiness in their lives. Although, Mama Curry as some called her, will be deeply missed, her spirit remains alive in every story she shared, every song she sang, and every life she uplifted. Doreatha Curry leaves to cherish her memory, her sister, Betty Grissom, Clovis, NM. Three children, Pretrice Curry-Bossett, San Francisco, CA, Regina Curry Byrd, San Diego, CA and Antonio Curry, San Francisco, CA. Four grandchildren, Rodney Byrd II, Majesty Byrd, Dynastey Byrd, Malik Bossett, and a host of family and friends. Doreatha is preceded in death by her parents, Willie Lyons, Sr. and Thelma Lyons, former husband, Charles Curry and siblings, Sylvester Lyons, Willie Lyons, Jr., Clarence Lyons, and Darlene Lyons.