Robert McCurdy

Robert Edwin McCurdy, retired surgeon and long-time Denver resident, died peacefully at his home of 60 years on Sunday, February 16, 2014 surrounded by his loving family and dog. He was 91 years old. Bob was born in Purcell, Oklahoma on September 18, 1922, the youngest of four children born to William Claude McCurdy and Mary Emily (Maxwell) McCurdy. He graduated from Purcell High School in 1939 as class valedictorian and later from the University of Oklahoma in 1942 where he served as president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. While at OU, he played guard on the basketball team and earned the nickname "Manacles McCurdy." Bob married the love of his life, Carolyn Anne Faught, on March 20, 1947 and they moved to Denver upon the completion of his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine and residency from the University of Maryland. A captain in the U.S. Army, Bob was assigned to the Army Medical Corps and was sent to Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. Bob completed his surgical training at the Denver Veterans Hospital and subsequently received his American Board of Surgery Certification. He entered into private practice in 1953 and practiced surgery for the next 40 years at Presbyterian Medical Center (Chief of Surgery), and St. Luke's (later merged and known as P/SL) and St. Joseph Hospital. Prior to his retirement in 1993, Bob served as president of the Denver Academy of Surgery, the Colorado Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and the Western Surgical Association. He also served as the senior delegate to the American Medical Association for 18 years. In addition to his private practice, Bob was an Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado. He also served on the Board of Directors for Health One and was on the Admissions Committee for the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Bob was a passionate golfer and fly fisherman. He loved Dewar's scotch, anything chocolate, all dogs, especially Welsh Terriers, and every sports team from the University of Oklahoma. He had a brilliant, agile mind, an infectious, hilarious sense of humor and a deep faith in God. Bob considered himself the luckiest man on the planet and lived life burning the candle white-hot at both ends. Bob was a member of Cherry Hills Country Club for 50 years and St. John's Cathedral. Bob was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 53 years, Carolyn Faught McCurdy and by his son, Robert Maxwell McCurdy, who died at age 19 in an automobile accident in Winchester, VA on May 21, 1975. He was also preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, William Claude McCurdy, Jr., Maxwell McCurdy, and his sister, Marrion Q (Cissy) Giles. He is survived by his daughters, Nancy McCurdy (John Knudsen) and Kathryn McCurdy Pride (Charles), his four grandchildren, Robert McCurdy Pride, Walker McCurdy Pride, Caroline Neville Knudsen and Margaret Maxwell Knudsen; his special friend, Margaret (Peg) DeBiase; numerous nephews and nieces, many friends, and his beloved Welsh Terrier, Toddi III. In the words of Charles Dickens, "And can it be that, in a world so full and busy, the loss of one creature makes a void in our hearts so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of eternity can fill it up?" God bless and Godspeed, Bob! A funeral service will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, February 22, 2014 at St. John's Cathedral, 1350 Washington, Denver, CO. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to St. Anne's Episcopal School, 2701 S. York, Denver, CO 80210 or St. John's Cathedral, 1350 Washington, Denver, CO 80203.