Matthew D. "Matt" Curland

Matthew (Matt) D. Curland, age 88, passed away on Saturday, December 30th at NHC in Somerville, TN.

He was preceded in death by his mother (Lucille Evensky), father (Joe Curland), brother (Marvin Curland), mother-in-law (Mary Haire), and the love of his life, Elizabeth (Liz) Curland, his wife of 55 years. They met at Southside High School and had an on and off relationship until they realized that they just could not live without each other and got married on September 1, 1957.

Matt was born in February of 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he lived most of his life. He attended and played football for Southside High School and then pursued his undergraduate degree at both Southwestern and Memphis State. While he was in college, he was drafted to the Army and was stationed in Friedberg, Germany. Liz joined him overseas and they had their first of four children.

After serving our country, Matt came back to Memphis and balanced being a husband, a father, a student, and an employee. He attended University of Tennessee Pharmacy School and graduated in June of 1964, in fact, it was the same day that his third son was born. For over 50 years, Matt worked as a pharmacist and store manager at such places as Walgreens, Super X, Centerville Pharmacy (his own pharmacy), and Super D. For anyone that knew Matt, they would know that the best part of him being a pharmacist was getting to talk to so many people and building relationships with his customers. Matt never knew a stranger. Although his children got embarrassed, he loved to initiate conversations with anyone he encountered, whether they liked it or not.

Matt is survived by his three sons, Nathan (Jeannie) of Lexington, TN, Mark (Brenda) of Cordova, TN, and Michael (Beverly) of Oakland, TN; his daughter Felicia (Dave) of Roswell, GA; his grandchildren, Lucille, Joshua, Hunter, Stephanie, Jessica, Austin, Danielle, Bobby, Keira, and Kennedy; and his 12 great-grandchildren.

The funeral service will be held on Tuesday, January 2nd at 11 a.m. at Temple Israel's cemetery located at 1708 Hernando Rd, Memphis, TN 38106.

In Lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations in his memory be made to the ALS Foundation or St. Jude.