CURLEY, James Kemp Curley

James Kemp Curley was born in  Govan, Glasgow, Scotland on November 7, 1943 and passed away peacefully, at the age of 82, at Ian Anderson House in Oakville, Ontario, on December 4, 2025.

James was educated in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Canada in 1962.  He returned to Scotland in 1964 where he met Elizabeth (Betty) Rankin Kerr Duff.  They were married on September 25, 1965 and both left Scotland on September 29, 1965 aboard the Empress of Canada with a dream in their hearts to emigrate to Canada. They raised their children, Susan, Steven and Helen.

James was a dedicated and hard worker.  He worked at Chrysler Canada Corporation and in several other industries but managed to find time to upgrade his education, graduating from Ryerson College with degrees in Metallurgy, Quality Control and Quality Assurance, which resulted in him becoming a Quality Assurance Consultant.

James was a long time member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 136, in Milton.  He loved lawn bowling and curling, winning many awards in both sports.  He loved singing Frank Sinatra songs for which he also won many contests.  James had many long time friends both here in Canada and “across the pond”.  He loved to travel, visiting many places on his bucket list.

He is survived by his cherished wife of 60 years, Elizabeth (better known as Betty), son, Steven (Kim), daughter Helen (Tom), son-in-law Steve, grandchildren Fiona (Derek), Lauren, Devon, Thomas, Hannah, Samuel, William and Edward, and great grandchildren Aubrey, Aveline and Sullivan, brothers Thomas and George, sister Helen and many nieces and nephews here in Canada and “across the pond”.  James is predeceased by his parents, John and Helen Curley, daughter Susan, brothers John and Joseph  (in infancy), brothers John, Brian and Charles and great granddaughter Brooklyn.

A Visitation will be held at McKersie & Early Funeral Home located at 114 Main Street E. in Milton, ON on Monday, December 15, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.  The Funeral Service will be held in the Funeral Home Chapel  on Tuesday, December 16 at 12:00 PM.  The burial will follow at Milton Evergreen Cemetery located at 230 Ontario St. S., in Milton.  Afterwards, everyone is invited to join the family at 2:00 PM at the Milton Legion Branch 136, 21 Charles Street in Milton for a reception.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in memory of James be made to either Ian Anderson House (https://ianandersonhouse.com), Hope Place Centre Hornby (https://www.hopeplacecentres.org), or a charity of your choice.

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planting partners throughout North America and trees are planted wherever reforestation is needed most at that time.

We leave it up to our forestry experts and planting partners to decide where the needs are.

Also, the type of tree that is planted will vary by planting region.

Our planting partners decide what appropriately grows in the region, and what is best for the

environment and maintenance of the area.