Allan Currie
Allan John Currie (born 12 July 1943) is a retired Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, flight instructor, and avionics technician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Early Life
Currie was born to Jean and Clyde Currie on 12 July 1943.
Currie attended university on a sponsorship by the Canadian Armed Forces. He graduated 1966 with a BSc in Electrical Engineering (Electronics).
Marriages and family
He married Jacky Gregory in about 1965. They had four children:
- June Marie (born 18 February 1966), with a daughter and two grandchildren.
- Michael Allan (born 18 October 1968), with an unknown number of issue.
- Ian John (born 25 October 1974), with two children.
- Jason Robert (born 7 March 1976), no issue.
Allan and Jacky divorced in 1980. At the time the children were aged 14, 12, 6, and 4. Jacky kept custody of their children, remarried, and moved around frequently in Manitoba. However, once the children left home they all settled down in Winnipeg.
In 1986, Currie remarried, to Yvonne Carol Narozniak.
His second wife Yvonne died in 2003. Since then he has stayed a bachelor.
As of 2018 he also has at least three grandchildren:
- Desiree Hunt (born 1985), by June
- Mabel Currie (born 2001), by Ian
- Matthew Currie (born 2004), by Ian
As of 2018 he also has at least two great-grandchildren:
- Aiden Stefak (born 2006), by Desiree
- Kiersten Stefak (born 2010), by Desiree
In summary, he has 4 children, at least 3 grandchildren, and at least 2 great-grandchildren, for a total of at least 9 descendants.
Career
After his graduation in 1966 Currie went through pilot training. He served with NATO in Germany flying the Canadair CF-104 Starfighter for 2 years.
In 1968, he served in Lubbock, Texas for 3 years as an instructor on the T-37 basic jet trainer.
From 1971, he worked in Cold Lake, Alberta as an instructor on T-33 aircraft. Later, he worked as a Tactical Fighter Instructor on the CF-5 aircraft. Currie flew the CF-5 with Squadron 419 alongside Squadron 434. Squadron 419 was the training squadron while Squadron 434 was the operational squadron. Squadron 434 was Currie's Uncle Neill's old wartime squadron.
From 1984 to 1986, he served in Winnipeg as the Aide to the Base Commander, Base Information Officer and oversaw all the military students at universities from Brandon to Lakehead.
In 1986, he was transferred to Edmonton, Alberta, to train on the C-130 Hercules transport. However, he "really didn't want to fly the Hercs", and this, combined with a desire to be closer to his children in Winnipeg, led to his decision to retire from the Royal Canadian Air Force after 20 years, in 1986, and return to Winnipeg.
He took a Computer Tech Course at Red River College, and from 1986 to 1992 he worked in computer sales and service, in the early years of the Personal Computer era.
In 1992 he moved to Bristol Aerospace, who were overhauling the CF-5 aircraft he previously flew. Their overhaul included a total rewiring of the plane.
As this contract was winding down, he "jumped ship" to Air Canada Technical Services in Winnipeg and worked as an Avionics Technician. There, he overhauled Airbus A319/320/321 aircraft. This work "included all aspects of electrical work from replacing light bulbs, installing new systems like the inflight entertainment and testing and solving problems with systems like the Flight Management Guidance."
Currie retired from Air Canada Technical Services in 2008.
Retirement
As of 2018, Currie maintains an active lifestyle:
- In summers, Currie travels with his shih tzu [1], Brandi, and his trailer throughout Canada and the USA for 8-12 weeks.
- In winters, five days a week he subjects himself to a robust training regimen: Zumba, Strength Training, Yoga, Cardio/Weights/Bands/Balance and Line Dancing.
Sources
Private email from Allan sent July 2018 to Michael Currie