Curtis passed away on November 7, 2010. He was born in Corder, Missouri September 18, 1931. At age 11 he and his family moved to Taft, California. He joined the Navy in Oct 1948 and served until Oct 1952, departing the ship as a Machinest Mate 3rd Class (MM3). He married his high school sweetheart, Arlene Farmer, in June 1952 and on returning home from the Navy he went to work in the oil fields in Taft. Curt and Arlene had two children, Curtis Edward Jr. (Eddie), in 1953, and Dennis Keith in 1958.
In 1961 the family moved to Lompoc, California and Curt started work at Vandenberg Air Force Base as a Fireman. He worked his way through the ranks and retired as an Assistant Fire Chief (Chief, Fire Prevention and Arson Investigation) in 1981. In 1988 Curt and Arlene bought a house on the Umpqua River in Kellogg, Oregon. He took great pride in his vegetable garden and grew some of the tastiest tomatoes on earth. He dropped a line in the river now and then but the fish were old friends and didn't often make it to the dinner table.
Parkinson's Disease has no cure, and Curt fought it bravely to the end. He was 79 when he passed away quietly and peacefully at home in Sutherlin, Oregon on 7 November 2010. On Veteran's Day, surrounded by friends and family, he was laid to rest next to his son Eddie at the Kellogg Cemetery. All who knew him will remember him as a warm, funny and loving man.
Onr learning of the USS Spangler website in early 1957, Curtis was kind enough to provide the site with a wonderful set of photos from his years aboard ship. These are are published in a photo section as an album under his name. The album is especially unique in that nearly all of his shipmates in the photos are identified by name.
Please click HERE to view the album.
Submitted in loving memory by his wife Arlene.
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