Submitted by: Dan Rich
Jan. 1, 1896 - Oct. 8, 1996
South Bend Tribune 10/10/1996
Serena D. Currey, 100, recently a resident of St. Paul's Retirement Community, and formerly a resident of Mishawaka, Ind., passed away after a short illness at 2:20 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 8, at St. Joseph's Community Hospital, Mishawaka. Mrs. Currey was born on Jan. 1, 1896, the eldest child of August H. DeGroote and Teresa Kronewitter DeGroote. She graduated from Mishawaka High School in 1913. During World War I, she worked as a secretary for Ulysses S. Grant III in the Navy Department in Washington, D.C. Returning to Mishawaka, she then took employment with the Peoples Building and Loan Association.
On July 12, 1922, as Serena DeGroote, she married Richard C. Currey in Mishawaka. He preceded her in death on March 4, 1934. She is survived by her only child, Robert S. Currey of Mishawaka; her grandchildren, Richard C. Currey II of Mishawaka and Carolyn Currey Howe of Stow, Mass.; four great-grandchildren, Laura Elizabeth Currey and Blair Patrick Currey of Mishawaka, and Robert Charles Howe and David Currey Howe of Stow; two sisters, Agnes DeGroote (Mrs. Charles) of Rolling Prairie, Ind. and Elizabeth Finch (Mrs. Fred) of San Diego, Calif. Three brothers and two sisters preceded her in death.
Besides her employment at Peoples Building and Loan Association, Mrs. Currey worked for Associates Investment Company, and the C. E. Perkins Insurance Agency. She was also office manager for the Koehler Insurance Agency in South Bend, retiring in 1969. She traveled extensively and was a member of various civic organizations, including the Altrusa Club, Mishawaka Women's Club and Mishawaka Garden Club. She also served on the Board of Directors of the YWCA. She was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mishawaka, where she belonged to the Rosary Society.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, in St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Mishawaka. Burial will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Mishawaka. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, at Hahn Funeral Home, 505 W. Eighth St., Mishawaka. A memorial service will be held later at St. Paul's Retirement Community. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.