Curtis Virgil McVee

Anchorage resident Curtis V. McVee, 96, passed away on June 15, 2025. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on June 28, 2025 at First United Methodist Church of Anchorage. A livestream of the service will be available at firstumcanchorage.org and on Facebook Live. A reception will follow the service. Interment will be at Fort Richardson National Cemetery.
Curtis was born on March 11, 1929, in Glasgow, Montana, to Virgil and Lillian McVee. He graduated from Montana State University in 1950 with a degree in range management.
Curtis married Joyce McVee (nee Nakken) on November 26, 1949. They raised four sons together until Joyce's death in 2009. He grew up on a ranch in Northeast Montana, enjoying the outdoors as part of daily life. After moving to Anchorage from Washington, D.C. in 1967, he fell in love with Alaska. The family enjoyed hunting, fishing, skiing, camping, and entertaining visitors. Curtis and Joyce spent many happy summers at their lot near Anchor Point, fishing for halibut from their boat.
Curtis was a skilled artist, creating a large collection of charcoal drawings of wildlife and sharing them with friends and family. The son of a teacher, his mother didn't care what he was reading as long as he was reading. He became a voracious reader of non-fiction and developed a lifelong interest in learning. He was a self-taught harmonica player and guitarist.
Curtis spent most of his career in public service. He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to1954, working as a photographer in the Signal Corps during the Korean War. He began his first permanent job in 1950 with the Bureau of Land Management in Billings, Montana. Curtis spent most of his early career years working on grazing programs in Montana as a range conservation specialist. In 1955 he became BLM assistant district manager in Miles City, Montana and was named district manager in Ely, Nevada in 1960. From there he worked in Washington D.C. as a watershed specialist. He moved to Alaska in 1967 and held positions as Assistant and Associate State Director. He served as State Director of the Bureau of Land Management for Alaska from 1971 to1984.
During his BLM career McVee received both the U.S. Department of the Interior's Meritorious and Distinguished Service Awards, and twice received the Senior Executive Service's Meritorious Service Award. A recognized international authority on problems related to permafrost and construction in the arctic, he represented the U.S. Government at scientific conferences in the Soviet Union and Alaska.
After retiring from his BLM career, McVee served as president of the Alaska Community Engineering Services and Executive Director of the Alaska Miners Association. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed McVee as the Federal Cochair of the Alaska Land Use Council.
Curtis is survived by sons Mike (Corinne McVee), Mark (Amy McVee), and Matt (Erika VanPatten); grandchildren, Danielle Amato, Chantel McVee, Malia Burcham, Patrick McVee, Quinn McVee and Piper McVee; and great grandchildren, Oz Amato, Teo Amato, and Bindi Burcham. He was preceded in death by his wife Joyce, son Tom, sister Lilah, and brother Charles.