John Edgar Curby Jr. ’61

John died April 4, 2026, after a brief illness in St. Louis, Mo.  

A son of ’31, he was born and raised in St. Louis, of which he was a proud, lifelong resident, save only his time at Princeton and two years of national service. He came to Princeton from St. Louis Country Day School. At Princeton, he was in the Woodrow Wilson School, took his meals at Colonial, and visited Japan in 1960 under the Princeton in Asia program. 

During his time in the Air Force and the U.S. State Department, he served in Turkey and Nicaragua before returning to St. Louis for good in 1967, where he joined Reinholdt & Gardner as a stockbroker. He had a 33-year career as a finance adviser before retiring in 2000 from Smith Barney.  

An avid traveler all his life, he visited more than 80 countries during his lifetime. Among his many hobbies was, unsurprisingly, trip planning, for which he was legendary.  

John is survived by his wife, Susan; daughter Nancy ’88; son Drew; stepchildren Sarah Manis and John Morris; two grandchildren; and a great-grandson.