David Curtis

Baker City, 1934-2021

David Orcutt Curtis, 86, of Baker City, went to be with the Lord on May 8, 2021, at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Baker City, surrounded by family.

His memorial service will take place on Friday, May 21 at 11 a.m. at the Harvest Christian Church, 3720 Birch St. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception following the service at the church, food and refreshments will be provided.

Dave was born on Nov. 19, 1934, at Baker to Edmund (Ted) and Marion (Jo) Hauser Curtis. He was the second of four children. He was raised in Baker where he attended school and made lifelong friends. In 1952, Dave graduated from Baker High School and went on to Oregon College of Education in La Grande on a football scholarship. He left college to join the Army and was stationed with an anti-aircraft battalion at Skokie, Illinois, as a radarman. It was here that he was introduced to his future wife, Carol Uttenreuther. He boxed for his unit where his buddies labeled him “Clobbering Curt” as he won the Kenosha Golden Gloves light-heavyweight crown.

He was discharged from the army in 1956 and married Carol on Jan. 14, 1957, in Baker. He attended Southwestern State College in Weatherford, Oklahoma, before they moved to Illinois where he became a salesman for Cream Crest Farms. In 1963, he took a job with Pioneer Federal Savings and Loan and moved his family to Baker. He worked 36 years for the bank, many of them as the branch manager, retiring as underwriter in 1999.

He was actively involved in the community, umpiring and coaching Little League and joining the Kiwanis. He volunteered many years for the district and state basketball tournaments, ran the chains at Baker High and Shriners’ football games, and ministered at the Powder River Correctional Facility. He volunteered for many things; he couldn’t say no. His family was very proud when he received the Legacy Man of the Year in 2005.

Dave’s greatest passions were the Lord and his family. All of their children were in sports, he and Carol wouldn’t miss an event! If one child was playing at home, Dave would be there while Carol would “hitch a ride” to support another child elsewhere. They traveled many miles for all of their children. When Dave came after work, Carol would have a seat saved next to her. When the grandchildren started sports, it was the same story but this time they traveled together.

Dave loved the outdoors, getting out to hunt, snowmobile, waterski, ride motorcycles or four-wheelers, and taking the family to the mountains.

Dave is survived by his wife of 64 years, Carol; his sons, Don (Lenora), Dan, Dave (Lori,) and Dale Curtis; his daughters, Arlene (Jerry) Spangler and Marla (Jon) Henricks; 17 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; his brother, Linden (Cheryl); brothers-in-law, Bill (LaDonna) and Tom Uttenreuther; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother; his sister, Jacqueline; and his baby sister, Jennifer.

For those who would like to make a memorial donation in honor of Dave, the family suggests either St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences can be made at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.