George M. Curry

George (“Bud”) Montgomery Curry, PhD, passed away on 23 January 2026 in Nashua, New Hampshire, surrounded by his wife and many immediate family members. George was born in 1926 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of Gertrude Lily Alice Montgomery of Portsmouth, England, and Emerson Ladd Curry of Port Maitland, NS. George lived much of his early life in Connecticut, attending Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven. He then earned a B.A. from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; a M.S. in Physics at Yale; and a PhD in Biophysics from Harvard. George’s professional focus was plant physiology; he was a founding member of the American Society for Photobiology. Before earning his doctorate, George taught for 5 years at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, where he met and married the love of his life, Mary Scattergood Lawrence. The couple recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. George and Mary raised three children who were at the center of their lives—giving all a wonderful childhood full of horses, fly fishing, skiing, travel, and most importantly time with family. George taught at Tufts University and later became Head of the Department of Biology at Acadia, where he worked for 15 years. In retirement, George and Mary split time between their home in Groton, their condo at Pelican Pointe in Sebastian, Florida, and their cottage in Deerfield, Nova Scotia. These places were at the heart of George’s family life as he and Mary hosted family and friends for Christmas and Thanksgivings in Groton; Florida vacations in the winter; and, most importantly, summers at Deerfield, where extended family gatherings were distinctly important events for George.

George was an avid fly fisherman and loved his excursions in Nova Scotia in search of brook trout as well as trips to Newfoundland and Quebec fishing for salmon, all with friends and family. He will be remembered as being a keen conservationist who loved the outdoors and often spoke of the natural world and how he was intrigued and in awe of our planet; he passed the love on to his offspring and their children. George also enjoyed golf and played tennis actively well into his eighties, delighting in making that perfect passing shot on the courts in Pelican Pointe. In his earlier days, George also skied and was a founding investor in Magic Mountain at Londonderry, Vermont, where he and Mary owned a ski chalet.

George and Mary travelled widely as George particularly enjoyed their cruises and trans-Atlantic voyages. Early in their marriage, they lived for a semester in Holland while George did postdoctoral research. George and Mary returned to Europe several times, and during a sabbatical, they traversed coast-to-coast across the US and Canada by car and train, something George had also done with his family 20 years earlier.

George had a keen interest in genealogy and would speak often of his research. He was particularly interested in Mayflower connections, as he descended from seven passenger families. Much of his summertime in Nova Scotia was split between fly fishing and genealogy; he was a long-time member of the Argyle Municipality Historical and Genealogical Society.

George is survived by his wife Mary; sons William (Norma MacAskill) of Port Maitland, NS, and Robert (Susie Harrison) of Eliot, ME; daughter Lisa (Bart Mair) of Perkinsville, VT; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; brother Robert (Carole Eaton) of NH; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his sister Phyllis (Donald MacPherson) of Wolfville, NS.

There will be a graveside service for George in Groton, MA, in the spring and a lakeside memorial in Nova Scotia this summer. The family thanks the caring people who helped George, particularly the staff members of the Huntington where George resided. Donations in memory of George Curry can be made to Acadia University, the Huntington Fellowship and Employee Appreciation Funds, or to any charity of choice.