In Memory Of
Barbara Jean Curyea
1941
2022
Barbara Jean Curyea
December 11, 1941 — March 5, 2022
Barbara Curyea, 80, passed peacefully at home with her family on March 5, 2022 after a short battle with cancer. She will be missed dearly by all those who knew her.
Barb was born at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka, KS in 1941 to Kevin Curyea and Frances Elizabeth Jensen.
Barb grew up in many places, as her stepfather was in the military, including Topeka, Port Aransas, Texas, Anchorage, Alaska, and Smyrna, Tennessee where she graduated high school in 1959.
She attended Southwest Missouri State University and St. John's Nursing School in Springfield, Missouri where, as a prankster, she began practicing her shenanigans on unsuspecting nuns while earning her nursing certificate. She found her way back to Topeka and Stormont-Vail in 1968 and worked in Pediatrics until she transferred to the newly formed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 1985. During her tenure at Stormont she accepted the Lamley Award and was a skilled vein-finder in the tiniest patients.
Barb was a fan of tomfoolery and could usually be found with a syringe of water in her scrub pocket. She continued as a dedicated nurse and caregiver for her preemie babies and their families until her retirement in 2001.
After retirement, Barb was thrilled to look after her grandchildren from infancy until kindergarten. After they started school, Friday night sleepovers were a standing arrangement. She indulged their whims, loved them fiercely, and would always do her best to spoil them rotten.
She is survived by her sister, Kathleen (Morgan) and her husband, Gary Speer, niece, Shannon (Speer) and her husband, Joshua McWilliams and family, all of Prosper, Texas, and her daughter, Melissa (Curyea) and her husband, Dusty Snethen, and grandchildren Madison and Harrison Snethen, of Topeka, Kansas. She is also survived by her numerous dedicated friends, fellow NICU mates, dearest neighbors from past to present, and many of those whose lives she touched, some only briefly.
A reception in her honor will be held at Brew Bank, 822 S. Kansas Ave, Topeka, Kansas on Sunday, March 27th, 2022 from 12-3pm. Lunch will be provided. All who knew her are welcome to come share a drink or story with the family.
To leave a message of condolence or to share a special memory, please click on the Shared Memories button above.
Barb was born at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka, KS in 1941 to Kevin Curyea and Frances Elizabeth Jensen.
Barb grew up in many places, as her stepfather was in the military, including Topeka, Port Aransas, Texas, Anchorage, Alaska, and Smyrna, Tennessee where she graduated high school in 1959.
She attended Southwest Missouri State University and St. John's Nursing School in Springfield, Missouri where, as a prankster, she began practicing her shenanigans on unsuspecting nuns while earning her nursing certificate. She found her way back to Topeka and Stormont-Vail in 1968 and worked in Pediatrics until she transferred to the newly formed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 1985. During her tenure at Stormont she accepted the Lamley Award and was a skilled vein-finder in the tiniest patients.
Barb was a fan of tomfoolery and could usually be found with a syringe of water in her scrub pocket. She continued as a dedicated nurse and caregiver for her preemie babies and their families until her retirement in 2001.
After retirement, Barb was thrilled to look after her grandchildren from infancy until kindergarten. After they started school, Friday night sleepovers were a standing arrangement. She indulged their whims, loved them fiercely, and would always do her best to spoil them rotten.
She is survived by her sister, Kathleen (Morgan) and her husband, Gary Speer, niece, Shannon (Speer) and her husband, Joshua McWilliams and family, all of Prosper, Texas, and her daughter, Melissa (Curyea) and her husband, Dusty Snethen, and grandchildren Madison and Harrison Snethen, of Topeka, Kansas. She is also survived by her numerous dedicated friends, fellow NICU mates, dearest neighbors from past to present, and many of those whose lives she touched, some only briefly.
A reception in her honor will be held at Brew Bank, 822 S. Kansas Ave, Topeka, Kansas on Sunday, March 27th, 2022 from 12-3pm. Lunch will be provided. All who knew her are welcome to come share a drink or story with the family.
To leave a message of condolence or to share a special memory, please click on the Shared Memories button above.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Barbara Jean Curyea, please visit our flower store.
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