Joe Curran, the chief operating officer at Iconic Marine Group, which builds Fountain, Donzi and Baja performance boats, died earlier this week after a short battle with stomach cancer. He was 54 years old.
Under Curran’s leadership, Iconic introduced five new models and revived 11 more in less than two years. Prior to his time at Iconic Marine, Curran played key roles at US Marine, Harris Kayot, Wellcraft, Chris-Craft, Monterey Boats, Brunswick, Forrest River and Crest pontoons.
In his role as COO, Curran was part of Iconic Marine’s original management team and he envisioned the new outboard-powered Donzi performance V-bottom and catamaran that made their debuts at the Miami Boat Show. When asked about some of the negative response about the Donzi Icon 44 catamaran, Curran told Trade Only Today, “If I listened to what people had to say on social media, all our boats would still be stern drive performance boats with room for five people.” He was a straight-shooter with a direct delivery that will be missed.
“When Iconic was formed, Joe was my first hire,” Fred Ross, managing partner at Iconic Marine Group, said in a statement. “I couldn’t have made a better choice. Joe’s passion for boating was obvious, his talent and experience in so many areas was unmatched. We’ll miss Joe as a leader and a driving force at Iconic, but more than anything we’ll miss him as a friend.”
He was born April 27, 1963, in Chicago and was married to his wife Julie for 32 years. He is preceded in death by his parents Robert and Jeanne Curran, his two brothers, Robert, Jr., and Anthony. Joe Curran is survived by his siblings, Kathleen (Earl T.) Champion, Madonna Curran, Mary Martha (Dennis) McConnell, Marie Estelle (Mark) Nolan, Susan (John) Loberg, Roy (Claudia) Curran, Jeanne (Rich) Halko, Elaine (Kent) Miller, Jennifer (Robert) Grandi. He is further survived by many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and was known as Uncle Joe to many more.
In addition to boating, Curran was a talented college football player with the Michigan State Spartans, playing defensive tackle. He also had friends in the National Football League.
Memorial services will be held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Elmhurst, Ill., on April 4.
The family requests that memorials be made to Michigan State University Parkinson’s Research Fund AR9002, University Advancement, Spartan Way, 553 Chestnut Rd., Room 300, East Lansing, Mich., 48824 or Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, 3411 Sherman Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46808.
