Michael P. Curley

Michael P. Curley went to be with his Lord and Savior on April 11th in a peaceful transition to heaven. He was a vibrant individual with a heart of gold who touched many lives and lived with eternity's values in view.

Michael attended Westhill High School where he excelled academically and in sports. Mike went on to attend Dartmouth College where he was President of his fraternity, the Tabard. He studied abroad in Granada, Spain for a semester. After graduating in 1981, he was interviewed by a local newspaper and said, "I'd like to do something artistic or musical, something creative. But I haven't focused very well on what it's going to be. And the time is getting near." Those desires were fulfilled because Mike was multi-talented and his God-ordained path in life provided him with many different creative outlets.

He performed as Sing-A-Song Sam on a children's television show called Pappyland which aired on PBS all across the United States and Canada, and even into South America. As a musician who could play piano by ear, he wrote 22 songs in three days for the show and then performed each song singing and playing the piano, guitar or banjo for accompaniment.

Mike was a self-employed contractor who owned Michael Curley Custom Builders for over 40 years. While he could build anything, his niche was historic restoration and he loved returning old houses to their former glory. He excelled at what he did and won the prestigious Cazenovia Preservation Foundation Award twice for his attention to detail and "Restoring 19th Century Character" to old homes. He even built his own beautiful home in 2002.

Mike was a Man of God who could tell you the time and place he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. After that life-changing experience on April 2, 1990 he went all-in to serve the Lord. Mike's joy was teaching the bible and often said, "I'm a shameless promoter of the Word of God." He taught over 50 classes at Abundant Life Church, as well as ministering at Teen Challenge and other churches, and was an Ambassador for Christ everywhere he went. He recorded a CD called Songs From Heaven, which featured many beautiful worship songs which he wrote. He was Ordained as a Minister of the Gospel on December 31, 2014 through Abundant Life Ministerial Association.

Mike is survived by his wife of 32 years, Theresa Curley, and theirs was a true match made in heaven. He is survived by his beloved father and mother, Harry and Carolyn Curley; his brother, Daniel (Dina) Curley; his sisters, Karen Curley, Kristin (John) Houser and Christine Evans. He had many nieces and nephews who are left with fond memories of fun adventures with Uncle Mike. It might have been a float trip on Fish Creek, searching for arrowheads, swimming, fishing, or playing the guitar and singing funny songs around the campfire. He was competitive in sports, hard to beat in Scrabble, vibrant and fun loving! He will be missed by all until we are reunited again on those streets of gold.

Services will be held on Saturday, April 20th at Abundant Life Church, 7000 All Nations Blvd., E. Syracuse, New York. Calling hours will be held from 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and the memorial service will begin at 1:00 p.m. Donations may be made in Michael's memory to Teen Challenge, 124 Furman St, Syracuse, NY 13205.

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