Enrique "Ricky" Curiel, Jr. was born in Richland, Washington on October 13, 1983, to Enrique and Consuelo "Connie" Curiel. Ricky passed away peacefully on June 29, 2024, surrounded by the love of his family.

Ricky grew up in Pasco, Washington as the youngest child of the Curiel family. Ricky was always an abundance of energy and intelligent beyond his years. He participated in the gifted Project Spectrum program and later graduated from Pasco High School in 2002.

Growing up, Ricky loved spending time with family and friends and certainly enjoyed entertaining whether it was showcasing his "cuteness" or how smart he was, telling jokes or dancing. Much younger than his siblings, he would tag along with them and loved being the center of attention amongst their friends. Just like his dad and brother, Ricky played soccer from a young age and was quite a speedster on the field. Beyond soccer, he was a very talented breakdancer, winning competitions around the area.

Ricky started dating Maria Hererra in 2008 and they would be together for 10 years before marrying on September 22, 2018. They took every opportunity to experience new adventures like traveling, trying out different foods and indoor sky diving even though both were afraid of heights. They enjoyed supporting their families, especially all of their nieces and nephews at their special events and sport activities. Ricky made sure to take every opportunity to show Maria how much he loved her in a variety of ways. He always tried to make her laugh as much as possible, he sang to her, cooked for her and showered her with hugs and kisses any chance he got.

On September 7, 2022, Ricky became a father when he and Maria were blessed with their precious little girl, Aria Pearl Curiel. Ricky was the sweetest loving dad to Aria. They were an inseparable trio and best of friends enjoying so much together like watching Aria's favorite show Bluey, doing all the Baby Shark dance moves, taking selfies, listening to old school jams, and making Aria laugh every chance they got. Ricky and Maria enjoyed navigating parenthood for the first time and made all decisions together with Aria being their number one priority. There were no boundaries for what Ricky would do for his baby girl and absolutely loved taking care of her as much as he possibly could. He gave Aria her love for avocados because he researched how beneficial they are and even made Maria eat them throughout the pregnancy. He would always make Aria smile and laugh in all her pictures. He taught her the Salt-N-Peppa's Push It Dance and how to give knuckles after a high five. He was always excited to spend the holidays as a family and looked forward to dressing up even if he had to be avocado toast. Ricky and Aria had a special bond and created the best memories together. Ricky taught her how to kick a soccer ball and how to do the Hokey Pokey at the Father Daughter Dance. She was his world.

Ricky was a life-long Duke basketball and Dallas Cowboys fan and was never shy to display it any chance he got. He was an avid Jordan collector and enjoyed searching for the perfect shoes for his family and friends. Ricky was an excellent poker player, who was self-taught and so good he played in the World Series of Poker tournaments in Las Vegas multiple times. Ricky appreciated great food, especially spicy ones, but more so enjoyed making Ricky "specialties" like his enchiladas and chili bean cheese dip as an expression of his love. He turned this enjoyment into a career working in culinary throughout the years. Ricky most recently worked at Swampy's BBQ where he was loved by the crew and customers. Ricky considered everyone his friend and enjoyed telling jokes, talking smack, watching UFC fights, streaming live events and being present for those he loved.

Ricky was predeceased in death by his Grandpa Rosalio Armijo. He is survived by his wife Maria and daughter Aria, his parents Enrique and Consuelo Curiel, Grandmother Carmen Armijo, brother Leo Curiel and his sons Jordan (Grace) Cravens, Nicholas (Yvette) Berrones, Christian Curiel and Ezekiel Curiel, his sister Anel (Gabriel) Suarez and their daughters Sydnee (Mickey) West and Ava Suarez, in-laws Alfonso and Peggy Herrera, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews.