So he recognized the significance immediately when, years later, he found himself handling a real estate transaction involving the tourist hot-spot, which is now a state park, as an attorney with a local law firm.
Thats about as far as you can run around the table, Curry said.
This year marks his 50th year in the Florida Bar for Curry, who at 81 years old continues to work full-time at the downtown firm Ayres, Cluster, Curry, McCall, Collins, Bank and McClean, PA. With a focus on real estate law for most of his career, Curry has a represented several of the major developers that have shaped his once small and sleepy hometown over the years. These include the On Top of the World community, for example, and DeLuca Toyota.
Curry said he is looking to wind down his professional life soon, but in the meantime continues to enjoy the work that has kept him coming to the office for so many years.
Lanny Curry has been a real asset to the Marion County legal community, said Jimmy Gooding, who earlier in his career worked with Curry. Seldom do you find such a great mixture of intelligence, legal skills and humor.
Curry grew up in an Ocala that looked far different than it does today. The city was smaller in terms of residents, he recalled, but bigger in terms of tourists, who came for attractions like Six Gun Territory and Silver Springs. Because his grandfather worked at Silver Springs, he said, he was largely free to roam where he wanted there. After the tourists left at 4 pm, he said, he would often head to the Native American encampment to fish with the Seminoles.
When Curry left Ocala for Gainesville and the University of Florida, he became the first person in his family to graduate college. Then came a five-and-a-half year stint in the Navy that earned him the US Naval School of Underwater Swimmers certifications that hang on his office wall today. As an executive officer in the Navys diving program, he trained Navy and Marine officers out of Key West between trips around the country to recover mines, torpedoes and, in some cases, bodies.
It was a fun assignment, Curry said, aside from one memorable trip to an icy Lake Erie in January.
After the Navy, Curry returned to the University of Florida to attend the Levin College of Law. He passed the Bar in May 1966, and then headed back to his hometown.
Ive had opportunities to go other places, he said. They didnt sound as good as here.
After a few years as an assistant public defender and in litigation insurance work, he found his niche in real estate law. He joined his current firm in the early 1970s, he said, and has remained there since. As is typical of real estate lawyers, he said he interacts more with city and county officials than he does with judges at the courthouse.
Gooding, who also works in real estate law, said he picked up lessons by watching Curry interact with local government staff. He said he is a great example of professionalism and respectful communication. That is underscored by the 30-year AV rating Curry has maintained through Martindale-Hubbell; that is the highest certification offered by the legal peer-review agency.
Wayne McCall, an attorney in Currys firm, likewise credited him with being a thorough lawyer. McCall said he grew up in Ocala as well, so he has known Curry and his family even before they started working together at the law firm.
One of Currys most recent achievements took place outside the legal community. He took the lead in relocating Johnny Reb, a 23-foot-tall statue depicting a Confederate soldier, from a tucked-away corner of the courthouse to a prominent location at Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in 2011.
Curry, who counts relatives who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, said he thinks the new site is a better fit for the statue.
It means something to a large section of the community, he said.
Curry is married with two children and three grandchildren. His father, LV Strick Curry, served for years on the Marion County Board of Commissioners, and his brother, Craig Curry, is a former Ocala mayor. Landis Curry is among the 226 attorneys the Florida Bar recognized for 50 years of good standing during its annual convention last week.
Contact Nicki Gorny at 352-867-4065, nicki.gorny@ocala.com or @Nicki_Gorny.