| Honored by: | Daniel Curry |
| Brick location: | A:5 map |
Katherine Beauvais Curry-today I honor you in the Plaza of Heroines. I do this as a token of my appreciation of who you are what you have done for others and the inspiration that you have given me, your husband.
You are a person of enormous compassion. I met you ten years ago and oh, how I was intrigued by you. We hit it off after a slow start but something was missing. I could not open up to you. In fact, you found out that I could not open up to anyone and this was not for you, a seasoned family counselor. So you gave me a choice -- either I do some counseling work on my own and see what goes inside my head or we drop our relationship. It was that simple. The decision for me was easy. Go see a counselor and learn about what goes on in my head. But oh, how that challenged me. I was scared! This was the biggest challenge of my life. I struggled week by week with the inner sanctum of my most secret thoughts. I learned a lot but more importantly it changed me in many ways. I not only knew what I was feeling for the first time in my life I was also able to communicate with you in an honest open fashion. All of that time you stayed with me. You had the patience, compassion and the love in your heart to be there when I needed you. You listened to my silly fears my questions and my small triumphs that I had through the years. For this I honor you.
That was the past and now the present. I love you for the way in which your eyes sparkle when you and I glance a look at each other in a crowded room. I love it when you come to my arms and console me after a long and trying day. I love the way you check on the kids before you go to bed each night double checking that they are covered correctly and sleeping soundly. I love the sound of your voice over the phone. I enjoy your special trait of spotting something in our immediate surroundings that is out of place and announcing what is missing. You do it more by subconscious thinking than conscious. I am amazed at your ability to see a space and draw it down on paper. You have a terrific talent of drawing. I thank you for the training in the kitchen that you have given me over the years. Again a show of much patience.
You have helped many other people in your career as a counselor. As an architect you will help many more people. You will be able to use that same patient and compassionate heart to really listen to people and hear what they say when you are helping them build their home or their place of work. You will do very well in your new career.
Finally, Katherine, you have inspired me. You have made me feel fulfilled as a man. You are my best friend my wife and my lover. I will always honor you with my love. Your loving husband, Daniel.
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The poem I have written tries to encapsulate all the qualities in Katherine that have impacted me over the years. She is indeed resourceful and has a way of seeing things half full rather than half empty. She is courageous and a good role model. If Katherine had not been toying with the idea of going back to school I may have never looked at grad school as an option for myself. When my mother-in-law died her tragic death and it was important for me to be strong for my in-laws and my husband Katherine was the only person I could cry with and we cried together in her kitchen in that house in Sixteenth street.
"MOMENTS OF IMPACT"
She will always be creatively resourceful. No Sara Lee pie pan ever thrown away and who would know about the rupturing yellowed cushions underneath the JC Penny's couch cover? Deep green with burgundy it was. She has an attitude! I I mean a real ATTITUDE! That there will always be way to pay for dreams. And Bastille Day always came a good reason to celebrate. Rich French onion soup with loads of cheese and laughter. Courage to face the future (where are the jobs?) and the past (people always leave with too few parting words)... That I have been so lucky to know this woman.
Love always -- Keley Smith-Keller
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In these times of fast food fast cars fast money and fast living there stands apart my friend Katherine Curry swimming against this tide of hedonism and nihilism. I am honored to call this remarkable woman as part of my life. She's always been there to offer her compassionate presence acting as a wife mother daughter sister and friend. She has taught me that people can listen without prejudice and when asked offer enlightened insights and advice. She has opened up her heart and has to me on numerous occasions. So it is with great affection that I wish her a happy birthday and commemorate this paving brick to Katherine, a woman who derserves her place in time.
-Kathleen Fox
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I met Katherine as a result of an accident that rocked me to my core. My therapist died on an icy Nebraska road, and with a very brief search through the yellow pages, I discovered Katherine. Our work was intense--she was the only person who ever gave me a written guarentee that if I worked hard, my life would change. she was right. After I left the area, I continued to call her, and when she became a graduate student, we started a new type of friendship. Most recently, I have been able to function as an editor for her thesis. She is, perhaps, the only person I can go through an automatic car wash with and admit that I am frightened of all that water, machinery, and noise. Katherine has never continuously reminded me of my past. Instead, she has constantly insisted on a view of my present with a clear, strong view of my future. - Dawn Westadt
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When I first met Katherine, she was the big sister I never had. She influenced me a lot! She exposed me to the world of my creative self. She could make simple, everyday occurrences experience in art, such as in her decorative touches in our apartment, her clothing style, and even in the way she made a salad- now that was a work of art!
I have now gone on to create my own everyday experiences in art and I am forever gradeful to Katherine for this gift she has geven me. - Rhonda Newell.