Geoffrey Chandler Currier

Geoffrey Chandler Currier, 78, of West Tisbury, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital on Oct. 20, 2024, after a long battle with cancer.

He was a writer, musician, and athlete. He loved to laugh and make others laugh. His writing was smart and insightful, thoughtful and humorous.

Born in Boston on Nov. 14, 1945, Geoff was the only child of George and Annette Currier. He grew up in Walpole, and in the 1950s and ’60s spent summers at “the Crick House,” the name the Fuller family gave to their Herring Creek cottage by the breakwaters leading into Lake Tashmoo on Martha’s Vineyard. It was here that the Currier and Fuller families spent idyllic times on the beach in a tiny cottage at the end of a three-mile dirt road that was so rough it was, as Geoff wrote, “like taking a ride on the back of a dragon.”

In hockey, Geoff had a beautiful backhand shot. In 1964, his Walpole high school hockey team won the state championship, and he went on to play at Colby College. Later, he taught his children and grandchildren to ice-skate, and he took great joy in coaching his son Max’s Martha’s Vineyard hockey teams. He was a graceful skier, tennis player, and golfer. He had a mean croquet swing.

Geoff graduated from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., in 1967 — well before it became political, he would want it pointed out. He married Susan (Stebbins), and they had two children, Polly and Zachary. He started off in advertising at Hill, Holliday in Boston and then joined Pearson and MacDonald. In 1980, he co-founded the awardwinning ad agency, Welch, Currier, Smith with lifelong friends Ray Welch and Tyler Smith. For a decade, they created memorable, groundbreaking work, and were named one of the hottest agencies in New England. The Hatch Award cups stacked on his shelves are testament to his creativity. 

In 1986, Geoff married the love of his life, Joyce (Gower), in a small, autumn ceremony on Lambert’s Cove Beach on Martha’s Vineyard. Together, they built their dream house on Longview in West Tisbury. Shortly after, their son Max was born.

Music always filled the home. Geoff was a self-taught guitarist, and along with some advertising buddies, played in a band called the Fabulous Wingtips. At home, Geoff and Joyce had conga drums and baskets full of tambourines and maracas. Many a dinner party would end with a boisterous music jam. One of Geoff’s happiest final outings was seeing Wilco at Beach Weekend with Max in 2022.

In 1990, they moved from Boston to Bedford, N.Y., and Geoff became creative director at Wells Rich Greene BDDP. In 1994, Geoff, Joyce, and Max officially became wash-ashores by making Martha’s Vineyard their permanent home. 

Geoff was happiest working from his little office, a short walk past the rhododendrons behind the house. For nearly 30 years, he was a freelance writer. One of his most enduring loves was the Island, so it was fitting that some of Geoff’s most fulfilling work was as an editor and writer at The MV Times. He wrote frequently for Edible Vineyard, Bluedot Living magazine, and MV Arts and Ideas magazine. He also wrote for Martha’s Vineyard magazine. He lent his wit and voice to interviews with some of the many Islanders that make Martha’s Vineyard a special place. 

In Geoff’s words, “When you visit the Vineyard, or even when you live here for the summer, your relationship is primarily with the land and the sea. It’s a profoundly beautiful spot. I still find myself pulling over to take in a sunset, a storm front approaching over the sound, or the mist rising off a pond. And it’s this beauty that initially seduces you. However, when you live and work here day in and day out, the scenic vistas somewhat fade into the background, and you realize that it’s the people that give the Island its character.”

Geoff was an avid reader. His bedside table was always piled with books, and he would eagerly discuss the latest New Yorker article. He enjoyed reading “Letters of E.B. White” while eating a hot dog on the ferry. Geoff was proud to serve as a board member of the West Tisbury Library Foundation, and he hosted “Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary People” by the West Tisbury library and The MV Times.

Geoff was a lifelong sailor, and owned two sloops — Netcher, named after his imaginary childhood friend, and Morning Star. He taught his grandkids to canoe in Duarte’s Pond and drive a stick shift in a rusted pickup truck, memories they will cherish. And we’d be remiss if we didn’t say how much he relished his weekly dump runs, which he’d time to coincide with NPR’s “Car Talk.” 

Geoff and Joyce’s home was always filled with friends stopping by for a laugh and a drink. Geoff delighted in Max’s friends, many of whom continued to count him as a friend as they married and had children of their own. He was a devoted New England sports fan. One of his favorite memories was attending the Winter Classic Bruins hockey game at Fenway Park with Max and his friends Elliott and Alex. 

Geoff is survived by his beloved wife of 38 years, Joyce Currier; his daughter Polly Peters and husband Jonathan; son Zachary Currier and wife Kristina; son Max Currier and wife Lucy Chen, and four grandchildren, Finn, Jasper, Sadie, and Quinn. He is also survived by stepsiblings Randall, Mark, and Ashley Edwards.

Geoff’s family is very thankful for the compassionate care he received from Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Bing Center for Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, Visiting Nurse Association, and Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard. 

Interment will be on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 2 pm at the Lambert’s Cove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made in Geoff’s honor to M.V. Youth Hockey, P.O. Box 2319, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568.