Elizabeth Curtis Bates

1925 - 2020

Passed away November 1, 2020. Born to Jules and Margaret De Lescaille in Duluth, MN on June 15, 1925. Growing up in Winnetka, IL she attended North Shore Country Day School and Sarah Lawrence College.
In 1945, she married Lt. Eugene Curtis, Jr. USN. They lived in Clinton, IA and Wausau, WI until the family moved to Florida in 1959.
Gene Curtis through friendship and shared vision with Alexander Henderson became one of the Founders of Saint Andrews School in Boca Raton, FL. In 1964, Gene Curtis became Headmaster and they lived on the campus in the Curtis House for seven years, these were the most rewarding and challenging years of Betty's life.
Saint Andrews School has continued to be one of her greatest interests as well as a constant source of pride and years of happy memories while celebrating three generations of legacy graduates. "Go Scots!"
Gene passed away in 1996. In 2002, Betty and Edward B. Bates were married and spent 13 happy years together. They lived in Ocean Ridge, FL and summered in Manchester, VT until Ed's death.
Betty had a great sense of humor and enjoyed saltwater fishing, golf, music, bridge, painting, difficult wooden jigsaw puzzles, her many dogs and cats and being with family and friends.
Her Faith made her strong through difficult times. She belonged to Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, FL, First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach and was a member of the Altar Guild in Manchester, VT and a trustee of St. John's Chapel.
Our Queen Bee is survived by her children, Jud and Jennette Curtis, Julie Applegate, daughter-in-law Margaret Curtis, stepchildren Lynn Russell and Stephen Bates, grandchildren Marnee Brent and Peter S. Curtis, Jr. "Rocky" and great-grandchildren Maggie and Zach Brent and Declan and Maura Curtis.
She is predeceased by her daughter Lisa Ehlers who died tragically in 1984, her son Peter S. Curtis and her sister Julie Louis.
Betty wished that any memorials be sent to:
Saint Andrew's School, 3900 Jog Rd., Boca Raton, FL 33434. C/O The Curtis Family Endowed Scholarship Fund. This fund continues the family's commitment to make it possible for talented students in need of financial support to attend Saint Andrew's School. This fund honors the legacies of Eugene Curtis, Headmaster of Saint Andrew's School from 1964 to 1971, his wife Elizabeth Curtis Bates, his son Peter Curtis 1967, and his daughter Lisa Curtis Ehlers 1976, a wonderfully spirited young woman who brought exuberance and vitality to our school community.