Bradley Norton Currey Jr. ’51

Outstanding banker, highly successful businessman, and an incomparable civic leader, Brad died Jan. 6, 2022, in Atlanta.

Originally from Chattanooga, Brad graduated from the Baylor School, was an SPIA major, joined Tower Club, and was active in Whig-Clio and the Glee Club. He roomed with Bob Bottimore, Stan Hoffberger, and Steve Speidel.

After Army service, Brad joined the Trust Company of Georgia, thus beginning a career that took him to the pinnacle of business and civic leadership. After serving as chief financial officer of the bank, Brad joined Rock-Tenn Co., a regional paperboard manufacturer in 1976. With annual sales increasing from $5.6 million to $1.3 billion when he retired as CEO in 2000, the company had become one of the nation’s largest packaging companies.

However, Brad will be best remembered for his tireless work in leadership roles for countless community organizations including Community Chest, the Atlanta Symphony, Woodruff Arts Center, the Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta airport, Emory University, and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. In reporting his death, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called him a “visionary” and wrote that “it is unusual to find someone with that depth of influence … to stay away from the limelight and give credit to others.”

Brad was predeceased by his wife, Sally McClellan Currey. He is survived by their four children, Bradley III (Julie Farrar), Anne C. Bucey (David R. Bucey), L. Louise Currey Wilson (Clifford C. Wilson Jr.), and Russell ’83 (Amy Durrell); and 10 grandchildren.