Constance H. Currier

Constance Halberstadt Currier, 95, born February 3rd, 1924, passed away on December 27, 2019 at Hospicare in Ithaca, NY. She was surrounded by her family. The daughter of the late Alexander and Ida Cody Halberstadt, Connie was born in Santiago Chile where she lived until she was ten. In 1935 her mother, brother and she moved to Bradford, PA to live with her maternal grandparents at 65 Walker Ave. They lived there through the depression. It was the first time she had been to the United States and the first time she had touched snow. At the age of 17 Connie earned a scholarship to Pennsylvania State University and she graduated at the age 20. She met her soon-to-be husband Warren Currier during her freshman year. Connie worked in New York City while Warren served overseas during WWII. They were married at the Bradford home September 14, 1946 and honeymooned in Maine. Connie and Warren lived in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina during the first few years of their marriage. Their daughters Catherine (Cathy) and Rachel were born during these years. In 1952 Connie, Warren and the two girls moved to Ithaca, NY where they purchased their first house on Ellis Hollow road. They welcomed two more children there, a son Warren Jr and a daughter Rebecca.

In 1961 with only two weeks notice they moved the family to Tanga, Tanganyika for a year, embarking on the first of many overseas family adventures. Connie co-piloted a VW Beetle with all four children in the back while exploring East Africa. They drove on many bumpy dirt roads, picnicking and taking lots of photos along the way. Connie taught square dancing and shared her table with PeaceCorp volunteers. In December 1964 Connie and Warren again packed up the family and traveled by ship to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. There Connie worked for the United Nations while Warren worked for the African American Institute.

Connie was known for her sense of style and used her talents and skills to develop hotel interiors in Barbados and Aruba. She was the Clerk of the Works during the construction of the original Ramada Inn in Ithaca and for her brother Alex’s housing development in Orlando, Florida. When Warren was working in Saudi Arabia in the early 80s she traveled back and forth to Europe. She especially loved Almunecar, Spain where she hosted groups of friends and family from the states into her 90s.

From her earliest days in Ithaca, Connie was an active member and supporter of the Unitarian Church. She cherished her community there until the time of her death. She was actively involved in the founding of Planned Parenthood of Tompkins County. Over the years Connie devoted boundless energy to organizations and causes close to her heart, including the Ellis Hollow Community Center and Fair, foreign language instruction for young children, MoveOn.org, and voter rights and registration. She fought against fluoridation of the water supply and the building of a nuclear power plant on Cayuga Lake. Her interests in mind body health and natural medicine led her to Tai-chi, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Earthing and Crystals, broadening her community and contributing to her quality of life. She was an accomplished seamstress, always loved to have a project, and was equally comfortable with a needle or a hammer. She loved to get on the dance floor, was ahead of her time with all things natural, upcycled furniture before it was in vogue and preserved the family genealogy. Connie and Warren also loved to spend time at the family cabin in Canada. In her later years Connie enjoyed family reunions, backgammon, scrabble, hosting dinner parties, Tai chi, Unirondack, organizing photos, and sharing her stories of travel. She knew she had lived an incredibly blessed life and was happy to share her stories.

First and foremost Connie was devoted to her family. She and Warren, who passed away after 49 years of marriage, created beautiful loving homes together around the world for their family.

Connie was predeceased by her mother, father, brother and Warren.

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Cathy Currier and Ted Bronsnick (Ithaca), Rachel and John Rothschild (Madison) Warren and Chris Currier (Ithaca) and Becky and John B Carroll (Bozeman).

Her nine grandchildren, Yossi Bronsnick (Katie Church) Hannah Bronsnick, Justin Rothschild (Dayra), Cody Rothschild (Mathew Helveston), Cody Currier (Josh Balles), Katie Currier, Jessica Luckay, Bryce Luckay and Clay Carroll will remember her as a resilient, inspirational, intriguing, feisty, loving, and grammatically correct grandmother. A true Connie-sseur of life.

She was a proud great grandmother to Caleb Church, Griffin Church, Isaac Bronsnick, and Valerie and Milah Rothschild.

Her beloved sister-in-law of 73 yrs., Ellen Sellers and many nieces and nephews also survives her.

A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.

Donations in her memory may be made to The First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, Hospicare of Ithaca or The Food Bank of the Southern Tier.

She was loved and will be missed.

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