Rev. Terence P. Curley, D. Min.
Deceased: 2016-08-26
Diocese: BOSTON
ICTE Fall: 1998
Rev. Terence P. Curley, died on August 26, 2016 He was born on August 8, 1944 in Lynn, Mass., the third of seven children of Edmund F. Curley and Eileen C. Koen.
He grew up in Swampscott, attending St. John’s The Evangelist School and St Mary’s High School in Lynn, Mass. He attended Cardinal O’Connell Seminary and St John’s Graduate School of Theology in Boston, before being ordained by Cardinal Medeiros in 1972.
Fr. Curley served as either an assistant or an associate at St. Zepherin Parish, Wayland, Sacred Heart Parish, Lynn and Most Holy Redeemer Parish, East Boston. He was then named associate at St. John the Evangelist (French) parish in Newton. In 1982, he was named associate at St. Mary Star of the Sea, East Boston, and in 1983 to a similar position at Incarnation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Parish, Melrose. Between 1987 and 1993 he was an associate at Immaculate Conception Parish, Salem and Our Lady of Grace Parish, Chelsea.
He was named pastor of Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham in 1993, where he served until 2001, when he was named pastor at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish in Nahant, Mass., where he remained until his semi-retirement in 2010 due to health concerns.
While serving at a number of parishes in the Boston Archdiocese, he earned a Doctorate in Ministry at Boston University. During his doctrinal studies he became very involved in the Ministry of Bereavement and shared his expertise in parishes and dioceses across the country. In addition to his parish work, he taught graduate courses at Lesley College Graduate School for Counseling Psychology and Expressive Therapy, in Cambridge Mass., and at Emmanuel College in Boston, Mass. He was also an adjunct staff member of the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of Boston. In recent years, up to the present time, he was teaching in the Master of Arts in Ministry program at The Theological Institute of St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass.
Fr. Curley served as both an elected board member and president to the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved. He was also a current board member of the Catholic Cemetery Association. He has written some 14 books on ministry to the bereaved as well as a dozen video productions that were often run on BCTV and across the country.
Fr. Curley was predeceased by his parents, Edmund and Eileen Curley and his older brother, Edmund C. Curley. He leaves behind his sisters, Anrita Talbot of Salem, Mass., Eileen M. Clay of Maine, Brenda M. Noyes of Maine, and Maura E. Bostdorf of Nova Scotia; his brother, Jerome M. Curley of Salem, Mass.; several nieces, nephews and grand-nephews and nieces. He will be missed by his loving family as well as the countless people he served for over four decades.
He would want all to know that life is changed, not ended, by his death and would no doubt highlight one of his favorite prayers from the Funeral liturgy. “Before we go our separate ways, let us take leave of our brother. May our farewell express our affection for him; may it ease our sadness and strengthen our hope. One day we shall joyfully greet him again when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.” (Order of Christian Funerals, #198)
Fr. Curley will lie in repose on Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. in St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 248 Nahant Rd., Nahant. His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday at 11 a.m. in St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Those who prefer may make donations to St. Camillus Health Center, 447 Hill St., Whitinsville, MA 01588.
