Curtis Farrar Embry, noted sportsman, teacher, avid traveler and so much more, passed away January 11 at his home in Modesto, California due to natural causes. He was 81.
“Curt,” to his family and many friends, was born May 14, 1942, in Phoenix, Arizona to Harry and Vanessa Embry. The family’s subsequent move to Marin County put Curt in the spotlight for a remarkable high school sports career. His accomplishments in football, basketball and baseball earned his 1997 induction into the Marin Athletic Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
He spent much of his working life as a math teacher and head football coach at Sonora High School and, later, as a math teacher at Ripon High School. He was also the proud owner of not one, but two, antique clock sales and repair shops during this hectic time.
Throughout Curt’s life he enjoyed traveling, fly fishing, golfing and spending long weekends with his family on their Lake Don Pedro houseboat. In retirement, he and his wife, Patricia, climbed into their beloved RV for annual, months-long stints in Brookings, Oregon, and Yuma, Arizona, among other destinations. The occasional trip to a casino might also have been on the itinerary.
Curt is survived by his wife, Patricia Embry; sons Shannon Embry of Washington, and Jeffrey Embry of California; daughter Jodie Meadows, who resides in Kazakhstan; stepson Jay Leslie of California; stepdaughter Jill Leslie of Florida; sister Nancy Peterson of West Virginia; and Mary Anne Rodden, his first wife of Sacramento and his stepmother, Lorelli Embry of Pasadena.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jan Embry, his sister, and by Jeannie Hinkley, his second wife. He leaves behind 13 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that any donations be made in Curtis’ name to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
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