Neil William Curran, former Baltimore city planner and organic farmer, dies

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6 days ago

Neil William Curran, a former Baltimore city planner who became an organic farmer, died of dementia May 13 at Roland Park Place. The former Mount Washington resident was 90.
Born in Cranford, New Jersey, he was the son of John Robert Curran and Elizabeth Noxon Curran. He earned a bachelor's degree at Rutgers University, served in the Army in Okinawa and later took graduate courses at Columbia University.
He joined the Fairfield County, Connecticut, planning office and met his wife, Anne Brinsko, at a New Year's Eve party. They married in 1962.
Mr. Curran became a Baltimore City planner in the mid-1960s and worked in economic development and the federal community renewal program. He was among those who opposed the construction of an interstate highway through Fells Point and Canton.
'He was adventurous, inquisitive and always reading and clipping newspaper articles, always working to make things better,' said a planning colleague, Rachel Edds.
By the end of the 1970s, he decided to change careers and bought a 290-acre farm in Clear Spring in Washington County, Maryland.
'My father was inspired by his Uncle Charlie's farm in Johnsonville, New York. He and my mother spent weekends looking for a farm property, even looking in England and Ireland,' said his daughter, Joyce Holbrook. 'He designed and built a passive solar house with a wood stove and large greenhouse.'
'Every morning for years, my father fed the barn cats that got dropped off by the dozens at the old dairy barn,' his daughter said.
Mr. Curran organically farmed about 5 acres of vegetables and sold them to local markets, restaurants, and at the weekly Hagerstown Farmers Market. He also worked for the Washington County government.
'My father was more concerned that people were eating healthy vegetables than how much he got for them. It was a labor of love,' his daughter said.
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Mr. Curran put the farm into land preservation under the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
After 15 years of living on the farm, Mr. Curran and his wife pursued another dream. They lived for a year in London's West Hampstead and then resided in Prague for five years.
'My father loved European cities, their trains and stations. He also appreciated the government support for the arts, local markets, historic centers and neighborhoods,' his daughter said. 'He applied the perspective of a city planner, thinking about what made places livable and vibrant.'
While in Europe, the couple traveled by train, gardened and attended concerts. Mr. Curran was a devotee of the operas of the Czech composer Leoš Janáček.
He gardened with the Mount Washington Arboretum and the Mount Washington Community Garden on Rogers Avenue. He attended the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Peabody Institute concerts.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Anne Curran, a teacher and vice principal; a daughter, Joyce Holbrook, of Upperco; a brother, James Curran, of Hailey, Idaho; and two grandchildren.
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