Philip Curtis Obituary

CURTIS, Philip Kerry Philip Kerry Curtis, fondly known as "Phil", of Atlanta, GA, went to be with the Lord on July 9, 2020 after suffering from the devastating effects of a very rare and fast spreading form of cancer. He will be dearly missed as the special person he was by all that knew him. He is survived by his wife, Jan Curtis, and son, Bo Curtis, with his wife Brittany and their children Cannon, 3 years old, and Chance, 5 years old. Phil was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather! Phil was born in New York, then moved to Columbus, Ohio where he attended Upper Arlington High School, one of the top schools in academics and sports in the country. He then graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth College and completed his graduate school studies with a JD Harvard Law School degree and then MBA Harvard Business School degree. He also served in the military as Army ROTC and Officer Reserves Corps. Phil's career started at White & Case law firm in New York City. He then moved to Atlanta and worked for the prominent Commercial Real Estate firms of Cousins Properties and Taylor & Mathis. With his strong people skills, he translated these professional experiences to the Executive Search field for an additional 20 years and recently as a Partner with Olmstead, Lynch & Curtis, where he especially excelled at the people aspects of the business and served his clients well. Phil also enjoyed community service and was the recent leader of the Society of Colonial Wars (SCW) group for the Atlanta Chapter and also served currently on the Board of the Harvard Business School for Atlanta. He taught graduate students at Georgia State courses in Commercial Real Estate at night school and mentored these promising students. He loved all sports, in particular baseball, and enjoyed playing tennis especially with his buddies at the Cherokee Club. He was a voracious reader of many books, especially history and non-fiction. Phil also played the drums, taught his grandsons to play, and taught students during college earning his way financially through college. As an amazing people-person, Phil really loved to reach out to friends on birthdays and special occasions and write unique poems and memoirs about that person and their life. He had a zest for living and people of all ages really enjoyed his company and friendship. He will be remembered by all as a wonderful man outgoing, brilliant and kind. He will be laid to rest at Arlington Memorial Cemetery in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Celebration of Life Services in Phil's Honor: Immediate: small private service for family members only; Later: larger service for all friends and colleagues at Peachtree Presbyterian Church when larger gatherings are permitted (due to Covid guidelines).

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Published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jul. 26, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for Philip Curtis

11 Entries

Lawrence Leiken

June 14, 2025

Phil was one of the brightest lights in my college class which motivates me to think about his loss so many years later. Warm, funny, bonding, and competitive,
an unlikely combination. Still remember the colorful descriptions of his road trips to Wellesley College and banging his drum in the Ohio State University Band, and of his asking our history professor at
Dartmouth Professor Scheiber whether he would like Phil to prepare and submit an "enlightened" paper to satisfy a routine assignment made to the entire class. (To the best of my fading memory, I submitted an
unenlightened one.)

James F Gatzke

July 20, 2023

I just attended the 60th Reunion for Class of "63 at Upper Arlington High School where Phil was a beloved classmate. I just share his obituary with a fellow classmate, Neils Perkins who did not know of his passing. Neils told me that he and Phil played a good deal of tennis together back at UA. Still miss all things Phil, as he was bigger than life. Many of us missed him being at the 60th. Fred Gatzke

Jack Bullard

October 31, 2022

I just found Philip's business card in some of my old things and checked on him. That's when I learned that he had passed. When Phil was very young, his parents moved into a house across the street from my parent's home in West Alexander, Pa. We quickly became life long friends with his parents Bill and Cherry. When his parents needed to go away for some forgotten reason, my parents brought Phil to our house and took care of him.

Bill was re-activated by the Navy not long after they moved to the town, but we visited them at his assignment near Harrisburg, Va. and later when they moved to Columbus, Ohio. They were dear sweet people.

In reading Phil's obituary, it is obvious that he lived a long and very successful life. I'm sorry that we weren't able to stay in touch. My condolences to Jan and the family.

Jack Bullard, Colleyville, TX.

My wife and I stayed in touch with

T. Brown

September 21, 2022

My condolences to Philip's family. May the Lord smile his shining face upon you. I just learned of his passing. Philip was my professor for real estate development at Georgia State University in 2013. His class single handedly changed my life. His way of teaching real estate intrigued me into development. In fact, I have become a real estate developer and have built a successful development company. I was going to reach out to him to see if he could do an executive search for my company and that's how I came to learn of his untimely passing. And I owe it all to him for inspiring me to dream...so sad. On the last day of class back in 2013, at the end of class, he read a short poem that he wrote. solo Christo

Clifford Groen

November 4, 2020

Phil is gone too soon. I met him at Dartmouth in 1964. He was very nice. I am in the Class of 1968. Phil and I are in Class of 1971 at Harvard Law School. Over the years, we had some e-emails. I am shocked by his death with cancer. My condolence to Jan Curtis.

Cliff

Victoria Brush

September 8, 2020

I visited with Phil at our 50th UA class of ‘63 high school reunion. I had not seen him since graduation and was amazed & happy to find him friendly, cheerful, full of wit & enthusiasm for life. Very sad news to hear of his passing. Sending sympathy & asking for God’s Comfort & Blessings for his wife & family. He will surly be missed by all who knew him.
With love & sympathy,
Victoria Jagsch Brush

September 7, 2020

I heard from Fred Gatzke that our Class of 1963 lost Phil recently .
Phil was a wonderful friend and a very smart fellow. I am so sorry for his loss .
With deepest sympathy, Tyler Baldock

Fred Gatzke

September 2, 2020

I am deeply saddened by Phil's passing. Phil and I have been exchanging e-mails for many years dealing with our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes but also all manner of things, large and small. Phil was quite competitive and I remember in 8th grade we tried to stump each other in preparing for the final biology exam by phoning each other with questions. I still remember the arm wrestling contest we had at the end of English class where nobody won. After graduating from Upper Arlington, Phil went on to Dartmouth and I attended Wake Forest. For years our paths crossed only at high school reunions where we enjoyed many laughs and stories. In 2004 I drove my new car from Dallas-Fort Worth to Myrtle Beach SC for my annual fall golf outing. I stopped in Atlanta and spent a wonderful day with Phil and Jan enjoying his beloved Corvette, his drummed up man cave and stopping by the golf club and dinner at the tennis club. From that point on we were in near constant contact by e-mail. I was always struck by how close Phil followed all manner of goings on at our Upper Arlington High School in Columbus, Phil meant so much to all he touched in life and his family meant so much to him. All my sympathy and prayers to all who knew him well and his beloved family. Sigma Chi brother and life long friend, Fred

William Olmstead

July 29, 2020

Jan, Beau, and family - We were terribly sad to see the news of Phil's passing. He was a great friend and mentor to me at OL&C and beyond. Always quick with great advice and a good joke. A man full of character! Most importantly, he loved and adored his family. Prayers and hugs to you all - William, Katy, William IV, and Smith Olmstead

Barbara Long

July 28, 2020

We will all miss this larger-than-life man who contributed so much to our community while maintaining a kindly, easy going demeanor. We lift up Jan and the family during this time of sorrow.

Bob Fowler

July 26, 2020

We are saddened to hear of Phil's passing, and lift Jan and the family up in prayer for strength and peace. Phil was always engaged and connected in friendships and caring for others, and a contributor to community involvement and to our men's Bible study group. Phil will definitely be missed!

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