Richard Curby was an outstanding teacher with a brilliant head for math and science and a computer geek before geeks were cool. He taught me and a host of other minds full of mush the power of deductive reasoning and the art of dimensional analysis. In other words, Mr. Curby’s classes laid the foundation of my ability to think like an engineer.
In addition to teaching Geometry and Physics, Mr. Curby was our Junior Class sponsor as well as the sponsor of the Chess Club. He also took on the task of developing the first-ever Computer Science curriculum at Edison in the Spring semester of 1973. He would probably have been somewhat surprised that I learned enough html code to be able to manage a WordPress blog.
My thanks to David Alaback for forwarding Richard’s obit. I had no inkling of the challenges that confronted Mr. Curby in his life. May he rest in peace.
December 23, 1941 – April 13, 2015
RICHARD, a life long resident of Tulsa, died peacefully at home. His was a life well lived in spite of repeated hospitalizations and major surgeries for a cranial tumor discovered when he was 37.
The result of these procedures left him with extensive lung damage, nerve injury to the right side of his face rendering him blind and deaf on that side, taking food through a J-tube, and breathing and speaking via a tracheotomy tube. His love of teaching math and physics at Edison High School ended when he could no longer project his voice. However, his stubborn determination won out. He learned ASL sign language, continued his computer interests, and worked to advocate for accessibility for the disabled nationally, in Tulsa, and in the Kansas-Oklahoma conference of his church. For hobbies, he went to Oilers ice hockey games and collected humor to send to friends by email.
His family and friends will celebrate his life 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 25 at Fellowship Congregational Church, 2700 S Harvard. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to TSHA (formerly Tulsa Speech and Hearing) or Evergreen Hospice.
Tulsa Edison Class of 1974 Reunion Weblog 
I am a 1975 graduate of Edison and found this blog today.
I too was much influenced by Mr. Curby, who was my physics teacher.
I can thank him for one fantastic bit of advice: “Take all these classes in high school, while they are FREE! When you go to college, you will PAY for them…”.
I went on to graduate in engineering from Purdue University.
I was very appreciative of the encouragement Mr. Curby gave all of us – including the girls – to get into science and engineering.
This was significant, since at the time, the advanced math teacher (no, I won’t say his name) was stating “I don’t want girls in these classes – they distract the boys”.
Thank You, Richard Curby, for the influence and direction you provided. Rest in peace.
Barbara Haney
Thanks for finding the blog & commenting, Barbara.
I will note, in Dobe’s defense, that he also voiced disdain for “sixth-hour gym” boys who tried to play sports and take advanced math. We ignored him and succeeded in spite of him (or maybe to spite him). It was part of his old-school schtick that he thought would motivate his students. I agree that he probably made it too hard on the girls.
I will further defend Dobe for being a wonderful man outside the classroom. As a teacher, he was a product of his generation sadly
Dad also brought me up with the lesson ‘take advantage of free things that don’t have a cost.’
It’s a huge joy to know of Dad’s legacy as a teacher. I grew up feeling like I was the daughter of a famous man
As his eldest daughter, I thank you for this tribute. I have a favor to ask. I have a memory of watching a black and white video of him teaching before any of his surgeries. We spent decades knowing him by his altered voice. I’d love to hear his original voice again
Also a 1975 graduate of Edison High School (Hi Barbara Haney!): Curby and Dobe–two of the best teachers ever! Very different styles, but both so smart and so motivating! When I think back about Mr. Curby I feel so blessed, then I cry to think how good he was as a person and a teacher and how he’s gone; when I think about Dobe I feel a little angry, I laugh and then I know that I miss him too. An aside: My little brother, Taryk Ferris, took Dobe’s daughter to her prom, or so my brother said. My other little brother, Sam Ferris, was Mr. Edison. I was just a geek.
Thank you so much for posting this! He was my champion of “keep trying” and “find something you can do”.