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Veteran Maryland statesman Ulysses Currie passes away
Ulysses Currie, a former Maryland state senator who grew up the son of a sharecropper and rose to be an influential voice in state politics, passed away at his Forestville home Friday morning at the age of 82.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Ulysses Currie, a former Maryland state senator who grew up the son of a sharecropper and rose to be an influential voice in state politics, passed away at his Forestville home Friday morning at the age of 82.
The cause was advanced dementia, according to his wife, Shirley Gravely-Currie.
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Currie was the first member of his family to graduate college, Maryland Senate President Mike Miller said, adding that after Currie served in the Army, he spent 30 years as a teacher and principal in Prince George’s County. He’d go on to become a state lawmaker from 1987 until earlier this year, serving as a mentor to many and a champion of education.
ANNAPOLIS, MD - JANUARY 26: State Senator Ulysses Currie (D), right, waits for proceedings to begin as his wife Shirley Gravely-Currie, left, speaks on the phone in the Senate Chamber at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland uJanuary 26, 20 …
His career was not without controversy. Currie was indicted in 2010. At the time prosecutors said he used his political position to help Shoppers Food Warehouse, all while he failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting income from the company on financial disclosure forms. While Currie was acquitted on federal corruption charges, he was censured in the state senate. When that happened, he apologized to his colleagues and voted for his own censure.
“He sat right in front of me on the senate floor so I was sitting there as he was facing his colleagues and taking responsibility and admitting his mistake. I mean, that shows you what kind of character he had,” said friend and fellow State Senator Jim Rosapepe. “There are some people … who are like into themselves and promoting themselves. That wasn’t Uly Currie. Uly Currie was, ‘how can I help?’”
Currie was re-elected twice after the scandal. He’s survived by his wife, two sons, and two grandchildren.