Paul Guy Curlee

Dr. Paul Guy Curlee December 16, 1944 – May 24, 2013 Dr. Paul Guy Curlee of Durango, CO died Friday, May 24, 2013, in Farmington, NM, after a courageous effort against cancer. He was 68. Dr. Curlee was born December 16, 1944, in Sterling, Colorado, the second of four boys born to Kenneth William Curlee and Portia A. Lubchenco. He graduated from Sterling High School and went on to Davidson College in North Carolina, finishing his Bachelors in 1967. As a lieutenant in the Army, Dr. Curlee served as a medic in Vietnam from 1968 -1969. Upon returning from the war, Dr. Curlee went to the University of Texas in Austin where he studied microbiology. He then graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1975. He specialized in internal medicine starting with his internship at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He completed his residency at University of Vermont in Burlington in 1980. Dr. Curlee continued to practice medicine for more than 30 years. He had a private practice in Grand Junction, Colorado. He then worked for the St. Mary's Family Medicine Residency Program where he shared his passion for teaching medicine. In 2000, Dr. Curlee moved to Pasadena, California and later to Sonoma, California where he worked as a hospitalist. In 2007, he moved to Durango and took a position with San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico also working as a hospitalist. A revered physician, Dr. Curlee equally honored his fellow medical colleagues and appreciated the abundant love and support from San Juan Regional Medical Center, Mayo Clinic - Phoenix, and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. In addition to his successful career as a doctor, Dr. Curlee was a multifaceted artist, writer, angler, reader, musician, and lover of music. He always carried a black notebook and both wrote and sketched daily. His drawings catalogued images of his daughters as ballerina, mother, performer, and traveler. His paintings often expressed the beautiful landscapes of his beloved Colorado, Southwest desert, and many foreign traveled lands. He read voraciously and surrounded his life with the classics as well as the more obtuse books of physics and medical research. Dr. Curlee played the guitar, violin, and French horn. A fisherman his entire life, Dr. Curlee had yet to catch big-fish, "Walter", who still swims in the Animas River. Dr. Curlee is survived by three loving daughters, Ericka, Alexi, and Sophie, as well as four grandchildren and three brothers. He will be dearly missed by his entire extended family and friends alike. Memorial service will be held at Ridgewood Event Center - Blue Lake Ranch in Durango, CO on Tuesday, June 4th at 10:00 a.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made online to Music in the Mountains <http://www.musicinthemountains.com>, or to Bridge to Healing Inc. <http://masgutovamethod.com/newtown-connecticut-donations>.