A Life Story
Mary Frances Moore Curry January 28, 1945 – October 2, 2026 Mary Frances Moore Curry, 81, of Savannah, Georgia, died peacefully on October 2, 2026, surrounded by her family following a brief illness. Born Mary Frances Moore in Savannah on January 28, 1945, at Candler Hospital, Frances was the daughter of Cecil Moore, a Savannah police officer, and Helen Richardson Moore, originally of Aiken, South Carolina. The eldest of three children, Frances was a loving and nurturing sister to Nancy and Cecil. Frances grew up in Savannah, attending Pennsylvania Avenue School, Ramona Riley School, 37th Street School, Richard Arnold Junior High School and Savannah High School before completing her education through Adult Evening High School. She loved reading and needlework and sang in school choirs. Her early love of children led her to take a preschool teaching course at Armstrong State College, and she went on to teach young children at Hunter Army Airfield. It was while they were teenagers at Savannah High School that Frances met Herbert James Curry Sr. She often recalled staying up late helping him write an English paper. Still in their teens, they married on December 1, 1961, and would spend the next 47 years as partners in every sense of the word. They were high school sweethearts, husband and wife, parents, partners in business, and best friends who built their lives side by side. Together they raised three children: Herbert James “Herbie” Curry Jr., John Lawrence Curry Sr., and Catherine “Cathy” Curry Knight. Their devotion to one another provided an example to their children, grandchildren, and the people in Savannah who knew and loved them. Their partnership extended into their working lives at Curry Dry Cleaners, founded in 1944 by Herbert’s father, Herbert Youman Curry. Herb took over the business in 1967, and for decades they worked side by side, along with their children, building relationships with generations of Savannah families. Their work went far beyond cleaning clothes. Customers became friends, employees became extended family, and countless acts of generosity happened across the counter. Frances’s generosity was quiet, never loud. It appeared instead in the everyday opportunities she found to help someone: a baby gift, an advance on a paycheck for an employee who needed to pay a bill, or a tablecloth, choir robe or football jersey cleaned simply because someone needed it done. Frances’s life reflected the words she repeated often: “Do the good you can in your little corner of the world.” And Frances did. A woman of deep Christian faith, Frances was a longtime member of Calvary Baptist Temple, where she and Herb were active in the life of the church. They taught Sunday School, and Frances sang in the choir. Her faith was expressed not only on Sundays, but in the way she lived as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, neighbor, employer and friend. Frances (known by many as “Nana Fran”) was a peacemaker who put the needs of others before her own and cared deeply for people without asking for recognition in return. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband on January 26, 2009, and also by her sons, Herbert James “Herbie” Curry Jr. in 2021 and John Lawrence Curry Sr. in 2025. She is survived by her daughter, Catherine “Cathy” Curry Knight (David) of Springfield, Georgia; daughter-in-law Lisa Reid Curry; her siblings, Nancy East of Shelby, Alabama, and Cecil Moore (Louise) of Savannah; eight grandchildren, Brittany Curry, Ashley Curry Berry (James), Jeremy Knight (Donna), John Curry Jr. (Sarah), Jamie Knight (Kayla), Emily Jenkins (Bryan), Megan Knight, and Catie Knight; and twelve great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind generations of extended family, friends, former employees, customers, church family, and others whose lives were made better by knowing her. A visitation will be held Saturday, October 10, from 12:00 p.m. until 1:00 p.m., at Calvary Baptist Temple, 4625 Waters Avenue, Savannah, followed by a funeral service at 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Greenwich Cemetery. Pallbearers will be John Curry Jr., Jamie Knight, Jeremy Knight, Bryan Jenkins, James Berry, and Jonathan Havens. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.