Born December 14, 1931 in Burns Hospital, Cuero, DeWitt County, Texas. Her parents were Werner and Ettie Blackwell Fischer. She grew up in Cuero, Texas attending the public schools. After graduation from Cuero high School in 1949, she attended Baylor University. While there she was a member Phi Gamma Nu, honorary business sorority and the Peers Social Club.
After two years, she transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. There she was elected to the Scottish Rite Dormitory House Council and served as secretary. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
In 1953, she married Lt. Harold F. Curtis, Jr. in Reid Memorial Church in Augusta, Georgia. When Lt. Curtis left to serve as a security officer on the Hydrogen Bomb Tests on Einewetok in the Marshall Islands, she returned to Austin, Texas to complete her student teaching and work on a second degree.
When her husband returned from overseas, they were posted to Ft. Riley, Kansas, making their home in Manhattan, Kansas. While there, Mrs. Curtis taught with the Troop Information and Education Program teaching men fifth through eighth grade language arts and math. These were principally men from Appalachia and men for whom English was a second language.
When Lt. Curtis completed his service obligation, they returned to Austin so that he could finish the last half of his law school education. During this time, Mrs. Curtis taught typing, Dictaphone and office manners at Nixon Clay Business College in downtown Austin. At the end of this time, they returned to Greenville so that her husband could hang out his shingle to practice law.
She taught for a brief time for a teacher on maternity leave at Caddo Mills High School. She taught typing, World History and kept Study Hall. After this, she did not work outside the home. She taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, first, third or sixth grades from 1958 until 1984 at both First Baptist Church and then, later at Ridgecrest Baptist Church.
Mrs. Curtis also volunteered a number of years at the Junior and Senior High School level with the Deaf Education Program. She volunteered with the original recycling project through Clean Greenville and participated in the First Hazardous Waste Drive. She recruited people for curbside recycling in Greenville. She was a charter member of Greenville’s recycling program.
Mrs. Curtis was a charter member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church. She was a charter member of the Spade and Trowel Garden Club. In fact, the initial organizing meeting was held at her home at 1220 Park Street. She was a founding member of The Bridge Club.
She was preceded in death by a daughter Sara Allyson Curtis, her parents, her sister and her husband. She is survived by a daughter, Leah A. Curtis of Greenville, seven nieces and nephews and their spouses and numerous great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers are her nephews, great nephews and great-great nephews. The honorary pallbearers will be Julia Gardner Cantrell, Peggy Spradling Darby, Patricia Alexander DeVeny, Helen Leinhart Rhea, Linda Brown Shirey, Kay Mathews Stuth, Dionne Moore Wade and Jeri Lee Adel Williams.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Ridgecrest Baptist Church Building Fund, the Nature Conservancy, or the United Trust for Historic Preservation.
Services will be held 10:00 AM, Saturday, September 28, 2013 at Ridgecrest Baptist Church under the direction of Coker-Mathews Funeral Home followed by a private burial. Rev. Eddie Smith will officiate. Visitation will be 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Friday at the funeral home.