Warren Benjamin Currie

Obituary For Warren Benjamin Currie

Viewing: Leak Funeral Home 7838 S. Cottage Grove Avenue 6pm - 8pm

Service: Apostolic Church of God 6320 South Dorchester Avenue Wake: 10am -11am Funeral: 11am

Warren Benjamin Currie was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 14, 1980, to the union of Robert Currie and Paula (Jackson) Currie. In this union, Warren was joined by his sister, Simone, in 1982.

Warren was the second eldest and only son of five siblings including sisters Cecily Currie Neale, Simone Currie, Jasmine Martin and Melissa Bonner.

Warren attended Beasley Academic Center until the 6th grade. He went on to attend Whitney Young Academic Center for 7th and 8th grades and graduated from Whitney Young High School in 1998.

Throughout grammar school and high school, Warren demonstrated acuity, and a love, for mathematics and science. For several years during grammar school and high school, Warren participated in the Saturday summer sessions at the University of Chicago Young Scholars program, with a focus on mathematics. This love for mathematics translated to his professional pursuits later in life.

Warren was left-handed (a trait possibly inherited from his father and maternal grandfather) and evinced the traits of all left handers; creativity, intuition, and imagination.

Warren attended Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 2006. In four of his semesters at Georgia Tech, Warren reached the status of Dean’s List - not an easy feat at that University. While at Georgia Tech, Warren served as a tutor for several athletes in math and economics. Warren was also awarded a Bronze Yearly Award from the Office of Minority Educational Development (OMED). Not ready to leave Atlanta when he graduated from Georgia Tech, he worked for a consulting firm for a year, while planning the next steps in his life journey.

Warren always wanted to “see the world”. So, in 2007, Warren left the United States, and traveled to Japan to work as a Second Language (ESL) instructor for AEON Shizuoka. Warren reveled in his teaching assignment, as well as his travels throughout the country. The highlight of his trip was climbing Mount Fuji. His year-long assignment culminated with several of his Georgia Tech classmates and his sister Simone, travelling to Japan for a week of fun, food, friendship, more travel, and good times.

In 2010, Warren returned to Chicago to pursue postgraduate studies in mathematics education. He earned a master’s degree in Secondary Math Education at DePaul University. in 2012, while enrolled in school, Warren worked for several math tutoring programs, specializing in algebra, geometry, and ACT/SAT test preparation. He also worked as an instructor for several summer/after school enrichment programs, much like the Young Scholar’s program he participated in as a child.

From 2012-2015, Warren taught with passion as a secondary school mathematics instructor at both Dunbar Vocational High School and Michele Clark High School. He truly loved his students and the teacher relationships he developed at CPS.

After being invited to attend a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Teacher Symposium in 2015, Warren decided to move to Oakland, California, where he resided until 2019. In addition to his math instructor duties, Warren was employed as a District Math Specialist; in this role Warren developed innovative Algebra curriculum that was adapted across the Oakland School District.

Warren developed a fondness for astronomy and spent time with Melissa, when she attended school at nearby University of Southern California, star gazing together. He would call her about constellations and plants.

After returning to Chicago, Warren was employed at Chicago Public Schools as a High School Math Specialist, collaborating with teachers and school-based leadership to implement, and advance, district wide mathematics goals. Additionally, Warren taught a variety of virtual mathematics classes, tutoring sessions and after school/summer enrichment activities.

Travel was a true passion for Warren. He was fascinated with the culture, foods, politics, and economies of different countries and ethnicities. In addition to Japan, Warren’s travels took him to Australia, Italy, Ireland, British Columbia, Panama, Toronto, and Cuba. His life-long wish was to visit Africa and South America but remained on his bucket list.

Warren was an avid cyclist; as a child, his maternal grandmother Lucille took Warren and Simone on weekly cycling trips on the Chicago lakefront bicycle path-ending with a “lunchable” meal in front of the Buckingham Fountain. No doubt, this fueled his love of cycling. While he owned a car (briefly, during college), his preferred mode of transportation during his adult life was his bicycle. Secondarily, he travelled on other forms of public transportation (in Japan, Atlanta, on CTA and the BART system in California-when allowed), many times with his bicycle aboard. Warren always talked about doing his part to reduce the “carbon footprint” by using cycling as a mode of transportation, even in inclement weather.

While in Japan, Warren started running, as a form of exercise. When he returned to the States, he continued to run. He took part in several competitive races in Chicago-Hot Chocolate, Shamrock Shuffle. In 2011, Warren completed the Chicago Marathon in a little over 4 hours, with his family and friends cheering him on at various checkpoints. In addition to running, Warren became a devotee of “hot yoga”.

If you know Warren, you know he LOVED food. He was a foodie’s foodie. He had an adventuresome palette (meaning, he would try just about anything) and he loved to cook. He especially loved to grill outdoors, and countless outdoor celebrations took place in Atlanta, Chicago and Oakland-with Warren helming the grill.

Warren put the “E” in extrovert (another trait no doubt inherited from his father, his paternal grandfather, mother, and maternal grandmother). As one friend said “Warren brought light and love everywhere he went. He was everyone’s brother”. He never met a TV/cartoon/ music/movie/economics/political conversation (or debate) that he didn’t like or would weigh in on. He also had a disarming sense of humor that garnered him a multitude of friends of different races, ages, ethnicities and walks of life.

During the pandemic, Warren developed an intense interest in horticulture, and embarked on a self-training journey as a botanist and a horticulture interior designer. He established his company The Plant TrapHouse. His specialty was succulents; he created and sold a variety of succulent arrangements for friends and family. One of his last questions was “how are my plants doing?”

Warren’s taste in music was very eclectic. Motown, “old school” rap and rock, hip hop and “house music” dominates his playlist; he also enjoyed classical music (aka “Tom and Jerry “music-a term coined by Warren and Simone -don’t ask).

Warren had encyclopedic knowledge of movie dialogs, Looney Tunes cartoon characters (do you remember Gossamer, or Marvin the Martian?), music, football/basketball players/stats. He and Simone were a “tag-team” of recalling minutiae on these topics, on demand at family events, or just about anywhere.

Although Warren had no children of his own, he loved all children, his students and especially the children of family and friends. He is the official “godfather” of several Georgia Tech/Whitney Young children, and the “unofficial” godfather of many, many more.

Warren departed this life on Monday, December 18, 2023, at the age of 43.

Warren is survived by his mother; Paula, father Robert, bonus mother Jacquelyn Currie and beloved grandmother Lucille Jackson. Warren has four siblings who will cherish his memory; Cecily Neale (Jay), Simone Currie, Jasmine Martin and Melissa Bonner, uncles Stephen Jackson (Antoinette) and Ralph Currie; aunts Adrienne Jackson, Hazel Currie and Shirlee Currie; first cousins Arlova (Jackson) Vonhm (Ebeneezer), Tarynn Jackson, Katia Jackson, Adolpho Jackson, Michael Hopson, Derek Hopson (Yusairi), Ericka Currie-Fielding, (Glen) Barry Wilson, Christina Edwards (Archie), Marquis Currie-Tyree, Sierra Chambers and a host of other close relatives and friends across the United States and the World.

Warren is also survived by a host of elders: Great Aunts: Bessie Doggett, Bobbette Jackson, Ruth Jarrett, Margaret Jackson, Dicie Diane Tyree, and Great Uncle: Fleming Shelton.