Mr. John Henry Curry, 74, of Shreveport, LA, passed away March 7th at the Claiborne Nursing Home in Shreveport, LA.

He was born in Canfield, AR. On April 11, 1940 to Willie Ed and Queen Ester Curry.

He accepted Christ at an early age at St. Johns Church in Canfield, AR. As a teenager, John worked, after school, at Lewis Body Shop in Shreveport, LA. He later met and married Alma Collins. In the 1960's, they moved to Los Angeles, CA. and to this union five children were born. After arriving to Los Angeles, he landed his dream job in auto body & painting industry. He worked as a custom painter for Cadillac Corporation for many years and retired in 1985 from Buffington Cadillac in Inglewood, CA. After one year of relaxing and traveling, he decided that he would open his own body & paint shop with his sons, Marshall & Ephriam. This decision birthed Curry & Sons. Recognizing that family is the main recipe in a family business, he brought on board his two brothers Eddie Lee & Willie Lee . During John's career, he accomplished many achievements, honors, & certificates. Buffington Cadillac certified him as their custom color technician. In 1984, John received an award for formulating, designing, & fabricating the famous custom color known as Black Cherry GMC stock code #WA8244. His most notable custom paint projects were General Lee from the "Dukes of Hazard", KIT, the car from the hit show "Night Rider", and the 1974 Gran Torino from "Starsky & Hutch.". His personal celebrity client list included Lucille Ball, Byron Scott (LA Lakers), rapper Coolio, Eazy E, and many more. He also held Corporate accounts with Los Angeles Lakers and LAPD, painting the black & white squad cars & tow trucks. NEWS FLASH!!!!! The reason that John Henry was so fantastic at his craft was that he was actually "COLOR BLIND". As a result of his rare eyesight, it was a MUST that he added tricks to what would have been normal colors to most. He added pearlizations, metallic flakes, glitters, and also mixed color combinations that weren't normally suppose to be mixed together. This technique would recreate colors that could seen through his eyes as normal and basic, but to others, the colors were mesmerizing and in HIGH demand.

Survivors include; His wife; Mrs. Alma Curry (CA), Two sons; Ephriam Fynn (MD). and Marshall Eugene (CA). Two daughters; Evon Lynn (CA) & Tisha Jean (CA). His daughter-in-law; Tracey (CA), son-in-laws; Randy (CA) and Antonio (CA) One sister; Close Ester & brother-n-law Rev. Hollis Aubrey(LA). One brother; Eddie Lee (CA). Nine grandchildren; Otesha / Poo Poo (CA), James & Sara (CA), Deshun (AR), Bakari (TX), Marcus & Marshall Jr. (CA), Devin & Marcus (MD). Three great-grandchildren; Cynia, Jalynn, Berenice, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, & friends.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, March 21st , at 2:p.m. at Smith Funeral Home Chapel in Stamps, AR. With burial to follow in Blackmon Cemetery in McKamie, AR. Under the direction of Smith Funeral Home, Inc. of Stamps. Officiating will be Rev. Hollis Aubrey.

Visitation; Friday 11a.m. till 5:p.m. at the funeral home.