Jake Thomas Curtis' Obituary
Jake T. CurtisMarch 30, 1915 Â- February 12, 2004Jake was proud of his Southern heritage; he was the sixth generation of the Curtis family born in the South. He was born in New Orleans, the son of Thomas Sidney Curtis and Emaline Jessie Brown and the younger brother of Dorothy. Jake had no memory of his father, who died when Jake was three. A few years later, Jake's mother married a railroad worker from Ellensburg. In 1925, JakeÂ's step-father moved the family from Mississippi to Ellensburg, where he took a job with the Northern Pacific Railroad. Emaline's second marriage didn't last long, but it relocated the family to Washington. Jake has fond memories from his time in Ellensburg, where he learned to hunt and fish. Emaline, Jake and Dorothy moved to Seattle where Jake attended Broadway High School. In the late 30's, Jake returned to his beloved Eastern Washington working for Standard Oil in Yakima. There he took up snow skiing and was the president of the Yakima Ski Club in 1938. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Jake moved back to Seattle to work for Boeing. The Army Air Corps rejected him because of color blindness, so he spent the remainder of the war with Boeing. Mutual friends introduced Jake to his wife, Helen Bailey. She was a nurse at Providence Hospital in Seattle. By the end of the war Jake and Helen had moved to Yakima where their first child, Linda (Taylor) was born. A better paying job brought the family back to Lakewood where their second child, Tom, was born. Jake and Helen developed many lasting friendships with their neighbors in Lakewood. By now, Jake had become a salesman for Roerig, a national pharmaceutical company, where he worked for over twenty years. His engaging personality made him a successful salesman, and he was routinely recognized by the company for his sales ability. He was well known in the medical community in Tacoma, Seattle, Yakima, and the Tri-cities. He also enjoyed spending time with friends and colleagues at the ElksÂ' Club.He passed on his love of the outdoors to his children, while skiing at Paradise and later Crystal Mountain, and pheasant hunting on the Yakima Indian reservation, and fishing the streams and rivers of Western Montana. Jake spent the first twenty years of his life constantly moving. Jake's mother struggled to make a living for her two children and frequent moves were necessary. Jake was proud of the fact that he was able to keep his family in one place. He moved the family to Lakewood in 1946 where he lived the remainder of his life. Jake recognized the importance of exercise for good health. After his retirement he started a daily routine of walking. He would walk from his home to Waughop Lake in Fort Steilacoom Park. Jake loved people and soon knew all of the regular walkers at the park on a first name basis. They, in turn, called him the Â"Mayor of Waughop Lake.Â" He continued this routine until a few months ago, when his emphysema became so severe that he could no longer Â"make his roundsÂ" at the park.Jake was a beloved patriarch and will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Helen, his two children, Linda Taylor (husband Wayne) and Tom (wife Julie) , four grandchildren (Darrin, Brian, Cindy, and Kate), niece, Sydney Cass, and nephew, Curt Hornaday.
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