Genevieve E. Birrane McCurdy, a homemaker and former seamstress, died Thursday of heart failure at the Charlestown retirement community. She was 92.
She grew up on Hanover Street in South Baltimore, one of eight children of a barber and his wife. After attending parochial school at Holy Cross, she went to work as a seamstress in Baltimore's garment district when she was in her early teens.
She worked until 1938 when she and Joseph P. McCurdy Sr., who had been a garment cutter since he was 12 in the city's sweatshops, were married. He was president of the United Garment Workers of America from 1945 to 1975 and died in 1977.
"After her marriage, she stopped working but still had very strong union beliefs. She also continued to make and design clothes for family members," said a son, Judge Joseph P. McCurdy of Baltimore. "When she was 87, she made 12 sets of draperies for my house in Chestertown."
Described by her son as a modest and humble person, she was remembered for the emphasis she placed on education.
"She was always aware of the fact that her education was limited, and when my daughter graduated from Boston University, President Bush and President Francois Mitterrand of France gave the commencement address. We had to walk over a mile to the stadium.
"Once we were seated, I looked around and she was gone. She had taken a folding chair and sat right down in front of the platform. When I asked her about it, she said: 'Bridget is the first girl to graduate from college in my family and I'm not going to miss this,' " said Judge McCurdy.
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 9 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, 1400 Riverside Avenue, Baltimore, with interment in New Cathedral Cemetery.
She is survived by another son, John F. McCurdy of Stoneleigh; and six grandchildren.