Curtis Lee Passafume, Jr

Curtis Lee Passafume, Jr, 67, of Dublin, Ohio and formerly of La Porte, Indiana died peacefully at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, OH on February 28, 2024. He slipped his earthly life while surrounded by his loving wife and children. Cremation has already taken place through the Neptune Society.

Curtis was born February 17, 1957 in La Porte to Marian (Scholz) and Curtis Passafume, Sr, the oldest of 4 siblings.

On September 20, 1980, he married his high school sweetheart, Jody (Fisher) who survives along with their children Maegan Conroy (Brendan) of Lowell, MA and Nathan (Catherine Wimberly) of Lafayette, CO. Curtis is also survived by his three sisters, Karen Topp (Ed) of Crown Point, IN; Connie Murphy (C Jay) of Freedom, IN; and Kathy (Kayde) Martin (John) of Porter, IN; as well as several nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.

Curtis lived in La Porte for 54 years before moving to the Columbus, OH area to further pursue his career in Pharmacy Administration. He graduated from La Porte High School in 1975, completed his B.S. in Pharmacy at Purdue University in 1980, and in 2012 received his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.

While living in La Porte, Curtis was active in many musical endeavors including the Walther League Chorus, the St. John Handbell Choir, the Bethany Lutheran Church Sanctuary Choir, and the Bells of Joy Handbell Choir which he directed at Bethany Lutheran Church. As an organist, he substituted when needed at several Lutheran churches in La Porte County. One of his greatest joys was his involvement in the La Porte Little Theatre Club where he acted, sang, danced, constructed sets, designed and hung lights, ran audio and spotlights before he began directing plays and served as Musical Director for many musicals with his best theatre buddy, Jim Snyder.

Also, while in La Porte, he and his wife raised the 4th generation of Passafumes and Fishers-daughter, Maegan and son, Nathan. Curtis passed on his love of music to both of his children and was a Choir parent and Marching Band parent through their high school years. After moving to Ohio, he continued to enjoy many musical endeavors as an avocation: singing in the Sanctuary Choir and playing handbells at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, playing piano duets with friends, substituting on the organ, and singing in the Delaware Community Chorus where he also served as Music Librarian.

Although he cherished his pharmacy families at Coolspring Pharmacy, the Medical Group Pharmacy, Walgreens, and IU Health in Indiana, Curt's professional life flourished once he moved to Ohio. Starting as Director of Pharmacy for OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, a Level I Trauma hospital in downtown Columbus, he was then tapped for the position of Vice President of Pharmacy Services with responsibility for pharmacy services at all 15 hospitals in the OhioHealth hospital system.

During that time, he also sat on the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy from 2015-2019 and was appointed by then-Governor John Kasich to Chair the Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee which was charged with converting a legislative mandate into policy and regulations governing the growing, production, sales, and use of medical marijuana in Ohio. In this latter capacity, Curt spent 2 years traveling around the state of Ohio educating healthcare professionals, local officials, colleges and universities, and potential industry businesses about the results of the Committee's work.

One of Curt's greatest passions was mentoring young people. He served as a Big Brother through the La Porte Community School Corporation; served as a Cub Scout leader, a Boy Scout Assistant leader, and a facilitator of Venture Scouting through the Boy Scouts of America organization; and served as a confirmation mentor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. In Ohio, Curt's mentoring turned to young pharmacy professionals in his role as Vice President and through a course he taught at Ohio State University. He delighted in advising Pharmacy Residents through their 2-year program and helping them to launch their professional careers. He served as Pharmacy "Dad" to many current professionals now working across the country.

Volunteering was an integral part of Curt's life. In addition to those already mentioned, he volunteered at the Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, First English Lutheran Church in Columbus, and for the Southern Ohio Synod of the ELCA. Curt also served as a Voting Location Manager for the Ohio Board of Elections.

In his retirement, Curt was a master at Geocaching both locally as well as anywhere he traveled. He had logged well over 2000 finds and had placed 4 runs locally. He and his wife traveled the country in Curt's pride and joy-his 2021 Jayco Seneca Motorhome. Many more trips had been planned; but he will be seeing the country from a new perspective.

Two Celebrations of Life will be held. The first will be at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio on May 11th at 11:00am EST; the second will be held at Little Theatre Club in La Porte, Indiana on June 1st at 1:00pm CST.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Little Theatre Club in La Porte, IN, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbus, OH, or the Delaware Community Chorus in Delaware, Ohio.