Joan Ferris Curran
Joan Ferris Curran, 85, passed away at home on Saturday, May 19, 2012. A private burial will be held on May 24th at Forest Hill Cemetery. A memorial service, followed by a buffet lunch, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 16th, 2012 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th & Broadway, Kansas City, MO.
Jo was born on July 2, 1926 at home in Waban, Massachusetts, the daughter of Cyrus Yale Ferris Sr. and Gretchen Salsich Ferris. On February 17, 1950 she married Charles Edward Curran at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Waban, MA. She attended Smith College and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jo made her home in Kansas City, Missouri since 1952. She was always adventurous and athletic. She water skied and downhill skied until age 78, always joined by her children and extended families. She also attended family summer camp at Wohelo in South Casco, Maine until she was 84.
Jo started her career as a librarian. She became a Certified Genealogist who specialized in the writing and editing of family histories. Her works are splendid models for professionals and hobbyists alike. Always employing sound research and documentation, Jo had a knack for smooth prose, a penchant for placing ancestors on the stages of history, and - above all - a dedication to clear and easily understood formats.
With her deep roots in both new and old England, Jo had served periodically since 1979 as a trustee and officer of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and, more recently, the Board of Certification of Genealogists and the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. She was a member of the Mayflower Society in Kansas, Flagon and Trencher, and the most rigorous of all societies, the Descendants of Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of Kings of Britain (affectionately known as the Royal Bastards). Her various publications attest to far broader ethnic interests, however - ranging from Descendants of Augustin LeClercq (a French émigré in 1790 Ohio) to Jewish family life in Jonas and Betty (Kohn) Wollman and their Descendants. She published 10 genealogy books and pamphlets.
She is preceded in death by her husband Charles Edward Curran, and her six siblings (Hamilton Yale Ferris, John Alexander Ferris, Jane Ferris, Cyrus Yale Ferris Jr., Gretchen Ferris Smith, and James Withington Ferris). She is survived by her children Douglas Yale Curran (Terri) of Kansas City and Jane Withington Curran-Meuli (Michael) of Appleton WI, and her four grandsons Charles Hamilton Curran, Geoffrey Yale Curran, Ferris Victor Meuli and Saville Michael Meuli. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to UMKC Friends of the Library, 5100 Rockhill Rd, Kansas City, MO 64110.
