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John Stuart McCurdy

A light on Earth has dimmed. John Stuart McCurdy, 80, of Killingworth died at home Nov. 28 surrounded by family. John was the consummate gentleman, who was always well dressed, the life of the party, and a fantastic dancer (which many ladies can attest to). Friends remember him for his charm, outgoing nature, intelligence, wit, generosity, sportsmanship, and leadership, as well as his ability to put people at ease. John was always friendly and full of life. He loved to tell a good story or joke and had that perpetual “twinkle in his eye” as he saw humor in so many situations. There is a new star in the heavens.

John McCurdy was born Sept. 29, 1942, in the Chelsea Naval Hospital, Boston. He was raised in Scarsdale, New York, graduated from the University of Notre Dame, and attended New York University. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1964, serving aboard the USS Shasta and retired after six years as a full lieutenant. He continued his love for the sea through his membership at the Larchmont Yacht Club where, for over 40 years, he sailed the waters of New England and the Atlantic.

In 1966 he joined Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising in New York City and for the next 11 years had management positions in consumer product marketing and advertising agencies in Virginia, Baltimore, and, in New York City, as a Vice President on the staff of Richard K. Manoff Advertising.

In 1977, Mr. McCurdy married Kathleen Acheson Thompson of New York City and Central Valley, New York. They moved in 1980 from Larchmont, New York to Madison, after he founded McCurdy and Partners Inc, a one-man advertising agency in New Haven. Over the following 35 years, his staff of some two-dozen people served national and local consumer, business, and industrial accounts.

John McCurdy was drawn to volunteer work that served the needy, the displaced, his community, and his church. A devout Catholic, he was a member of Saint Joseph’s Church in Chester and Saint Lawrence in Killingworth where he was active in a number of ministries. He was also a member of the board of the New Haven United Way in 1997 and later served a term as president of the Killingworth Lions club during which time he inaugurated the Killingworth Youth and Family Services, the town’s first human services agency. For 10 years, he served as Chairman of the Board of the mid-Connecticut Workforce Development Board entrusted with the annual approval and distribution of several million dollars of federal funds to human services agencies for misplaced disabled and challenged men, women, and children. In support of his leadership, the board established, in 1997, the John McCurdy Institute of Youth Studies.

Surviving John is his wife of 45 years, Kathleen; his daughter Julia McCurdy of Thibodaux, Louisiana; his son Patrick McCurdy, wife Christine, and two grandsons of Pleasant Valley, New York; and his daughter Heather and husband George Chamberlain of Essex, and their daughter Lily.

A celebration of John McCurdy’s life will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, at Saint Lawrence Church, Hemlock Drive, Killingworth.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made in John S. McCurdy’s name to the Alzheimer’s’ Foundation of America. You can donate by check or money order and send to: Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, 322 8th Avenue -16th floor, New York, NY 10001. If you would like to make a donation online, please visit www.alzfdn.org or call (866) 232-8484.