Dreams of expanding the Deschutes County Salvation Army to hold more homeless people will probably become reality thanks to an $800,000 gift from a Bend resident who died three months ago.

Robert T. Curry, 69, finalized his donation to The Salvation Army just days before cancer claimed his life March 16.

Most of the funds will create more space for needy single mothers with children, which was was the condition of Curry’s gift.

The Salvation Army plans to use the money to either buy or build a new building big enough to hold 100 beds.

The organization’s two current facilities in Bend have a total of 33 beds, including 17 for women and children, and there is a waiting list of between 10 and 15 people each night, said Capt. Ray Wikle, co-commander of the Deschutes County Salvation Army.

”It was a long, long-range dream before the Curry gift,” Wikle said.

”It was something that was going to be hard to make happen, but now it’s definitely doable because of the gift.”

The donation was Curry’s most generous gift ever, but not his only one.

Curry founded Western Pacific Construction in Portland, his hometown, in the mid-1950s, and began building homes for young and low-income families.

During the 1960s and 1970s, as a partner in Alcan Pacific Construction, he built schools in Central America. He donated a warehouse full of medical supplies to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.

And, after buying a home in Mexico in 1986, Curry and his wife, Raedene, helped support an orphanage in Ensenada.

Before becoming wealthy through careers in construction and real estate, Curry had first-hand knowledge about the hardships of life.

His family was poor as he grew up in north Portland, and he had an after-school job at age 9 to help make ends meet. His father became ill and died when Curry was 14.

Curry was a hard worker, though, and he was already in the construction business when he graduated from high school.

”He was a wonderful, good person,” said Raedene, Robert’s wife for the past 45 years. ”He was also a workaholic. He never retired. He’d always be doing things in his office.”

The Curry family moved from San Diego to Bend in 1990. When they were a young married couple, they’d sometimes flee to Bend for weekend getaways, Raedene said.

After living a few years in Bend, Robert and his wife wanted to help out a local charity.

They decided that one, big donation to The Salvation Army could make the most positive impact.

Curry was diagnosed with cancer in January 2000, but he made sure to solidify his donation before he passed away.

”He’s always been really interested in children and helping kids out,” said Leslie Russell, Curry’s daughter. ”He had an opportunity to do it in Mexico, and he just started doing it.

”Some people need extra help. Not everybody can make it on their own all the time.”