LeRoy Doyle and Curry Johnson Memorial Service
Please help us celebrate (for they would want no one to cry) the life of LeRoy Doyle and Curry Johnson. Join us in the sculpture garden and the gallery from 3 PM - 5 PM on Sunday, January 23rd.
LeRoy Doyle departed this world on September 19, 2021.
The unofficial “Mayor of Tubac.”
The person in town who was always glad to see you, the one who made you laugh ’til you cried, the one whose counsel was most important.
He was truly one of a kind - a unique, loving, bawdy, caring, quick, hilarious, intelligent man who touched the lives of all who knew him.
And boy could he tell a story.
LeRoy moved to Tubac in 1979 along with his partner Curry Johnson, and was the heart and soul of K. Newby Gallery for 32 years of its 33 year existence.
He lived a full life, no regrets, no apologies, never needing praise or thanks for all the things he did for others.
He loved Tubac, loved its people, and they loved him in return.
He will be missed but is unforgettable.
LeRoy is survived by his sister, Donnabel Bradley of Eldridge, IA (a funny, warm, overly generous individual and the best sister, bar none) and her husband, John Bradley. His adored nieces are Adrienne (Todd) Stone of Betterndorf, IA, mother of Zackariah and Charlotte, and Melissa Bradley of Milan, IL, mother of Hannah Drish and Allison Drish, and her fiancé Darin Keith.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the TIHAN @ www.TIHAN.ORG
Curry E. Johnson
12/30/1940 – 11/17/2021
An artist, avid outdoors-man, and Francophile, Curry Johnson was a grandiloquent gentleman and a longtime resident of his beloved Tubac, Arizona.
Like a film character, Curry carried himself in an old-fashioned, courtly manner, almost like royalty in exile. Soft-spoken, he knew most everyone, had connections in high places, and endless stories as proof of both. Always kind, always gracious of the kindness shown him by others, Curry could assimilate and ingratiate himself into any crowd, any situation, making him a regular favorite in restaurants and businesses all over the village.
Curry loved the outdoors and spent many nights by himself, camping under the stars. This love of nature came easily to a man whose family, the Currys, essentially started commercial camping at Yosemite National Park with Camp Curry in the late 1890s, eventually becoming founders and operators of the famed Ahwahnee Hotel, a national landmark where Curry started his career in hospitality.
Travel came easy to Curry and he was just as “at home” on the road as he was in his own bed on Placita de Anza. He traveled to France as a footloose, fancy-free youth, a trip he repeated in his later years, living from town to town, traveling across the country with little planning; an artist letting the wind pull him in whichever direction it blew.
Curry is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Gary, and his best friend of 47 years, LeRoy Doyle. He is survived by his two nieces, Megan Johnson of El Segundo, CA and Meredith Johnson of San Francisco, CA.
A celebration of life will be held at K Newby Gallery at 15 Tubac Road, Tubac, Arizona on Sunday, January 23rd at 3pm for both Curry Johnson and LeRoy Doyle.