BEVERLY: Virginia E. “Ginny” (Fiske) Currier, 83, died unexpectedly Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in the Beverly Hospital following a brief illness. She was the beloved wife of Robert S. Currier.
Born in Lynn on October 10, 1932, she was the daughter of the late E. Gordon and Blanche L. (Smith) Fiske.
In addition to her husband of 62 years, she is survived by daughters, Susan Scanlon, Cynthia Boccia and Patricia Saltzman; sons-in-law, Paul Scanlon and Joseph A. Boccia; grandchildren, Emily Scanlon, Bethani and Jamie Boccia and Lydia Saltzman; great- grandson, Dre Boccia; a sister, Marcia Smith and sister-in-law Janet Currier; her many nieces and nephews and their families, Richard (and Mary) Currier, Kenneth Currier, Carol (and Harland) Wells, Bruce (and Sandra) Currier, Christopher Currier, Catherine Currier, Christine (and Sean) Barrows and many close friends are considered honorary family. She was also predeceased by her twin sons, Reginald and Gordon and her brother, James Fiske.
She was a graduate of Marblehead High School Class of 1948, and Beverly Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1951. As a Registered Nurse she first worked at Beverly Hospital and then Dover-Wentworth Hospital in Dover, NH. She was a stay-at-home mother while her children were young, and then became a teacher at Harborlight Kindergarten. She was instrumental in transitioning the kindergarten to Harborlight Nursery School where she was a teacher and then Director. In 1983, she received her A.S. in Early Childhood Education from North Shore Community College. She returned to nursing in 1984 after receiving her recertification at Salem State College, and worked at Union Hospital, retiring from Lynn Hospital in 1994.
Ginny led an active life. When her daughters became involved with Brownies and the Girl Scouts of the USA, she signed up to lead their troops. She assisted Bob as a softball coach during the inaugural years of the Beverly Girls’ Softball program. Later in her life, she found time to use her nursing skills and became the coordinator of the weekly Blood Pressure Clinic hosted at the Second Congregational Church in Beverly and stayed in touch and very involved with the Beverly Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association, where she served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors. When her granddaughter Lydia performed in the musicals at Briscoe Middle School, Ginny volunteered to sew costumes and help back stage. She also helped out with several political campaigns.
She loved history and became an integral part of the Beverly Historical Society by serving on the Board of Directors and as Clerk of the Board at one time. She volunteered as a tour guide at the Hale Farm, the Balch House, and the Cabot House and managed the gift shop. For many years, she climbed aboard school busses and took 3rd grade children on tours of the city, sometimes bringing to life Lucy Larcom or Mrs. Balch through reenactments. Ginny was appointed to the Lynch Park Advisory Committee as the representative for the Beverly Historical Society. The restoration of the Carriage House became her vital and personal goal.
Socially, Ginny loved to dance at Mitchell’s Dance Studio, attend special events at the Beverly Senior Center, march with the Drill Team at the Peter Torigian Community Life Center in Peabody, play golf or go on outings with “The Girls”. For spiritual fulfillment, she was a dedicated and active former member of the First Baptist Church in Beverly and the West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, and was a current member of the Second Congregational Church in Beverly.
Ginny and Bob loved to travel and extensively visited many parts of America, and in later years took annual family vacations in Cocoa Beach and Myrtle Beach. Highlights of their travels were camping, paddlewheel riverboat cruises on the Mississippi, a trip to Australia with her sister, and a tour of the U.K. with the Friendship Force. Their home was often opened to many foreign exchange students and Friendship Force visitors from around the world.
Somehow she found time for handcrafts, knitting Christmas stockings for all her grandchildren and sons-in-law, crocheting afghans for birthdays, graduations, and weddings, creating a photo quilt for her sister, knitting many prayer shawls, and entering some of her projects to the Topsfield Fair where she won first place for many pieces of work.
A celebration of Ginny’s life will be held on Saturday, March 12th in the Second Congregational Church, 35 Conant St., Beverly at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend and to wear something blue or with Donald Duck or brown cows – she loved these things. Following a collation, interment will be held in Beechbrook Cemetery, Gloucester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory toward the Carriage House at Lynch Park renovation. Please send contributions c/o 47 Sonning Rd., Beverly, MA, 01915, donations payable to Friends of Beverly Recreation.