RICHARD CURTIS

CURTIS Richard Allen Curtis (Age 75) Passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 27, 2022 at his home in Fairfax Station, VA, following a long battle with cancer. He was one of the most influential journalists in the country, but was better known to his family as a loving father, caring husband, devoted son, loyal brother, and friend to many. He found and created a sense of community everywhere he went, and his combination of quiet humility and profound generosity resulted in decades-long friendships. Richard was born on July 25, 1946, in the hamlet of Crossnore, NC, and grew up in Hudson, NC. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division before graduating from North Carolina State University in 1972 with a Bachelor of Product Design from the College of Design. As a student, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the school's newspaper, The Technician, where he was known as the fastest typesetter in the paper's history. He met and quickly fell in love with a Meredith College student, Jane Cromley of Saluda, SC. After only three months of courtship, certain that Jane was his soulmate, he proposed marriage on New Year's Eve 1969. They enjoyed 51 years of marriage filled with laughter, adventure, and love. He held various editorial positions at newspapers in North Carolina, Florida, and Maryland before joining the founding editorial team of the newspaper that would become USA TODAY. Richard found great satisfaction in making improvements in and around his beloved home and tinkering with road cars and race cars. He made lifelong friends from his membership in the Woodbridge (Va.) Kart Club and the local chapter of the Porsche Club of America. Richard and Jane were active travelers in retirement, exploring European cities and countryside as well as visiting 22 State Capitol buildings across the USA. He regularly walked around Burke Lake, always read a print newspaper, and drank the strongest coffee he could make. His love of "doing" was only matched by his passion for "doing nothing". Richard could spend entire days lounging at the beach or on a dock while soaking up the sun, listening to classic rock, and drinking Cheerwine. He is lovingly remembered by his wife Jane; daughter Charlotte and her spouse Mariana Valencia of Brooklyn, NY; son Tyler and his spouse Alyson and two beloved grandchildren, Owen and Daniel, of Durham, NC; brother Eugene and spouse Angela of Myrtle Beach, SC; sister Patricia and spouse Wade Apple of Burlington, NC. He was preceded by his parents, Julius C, and Florence Pritchard Curtis. There will be a celebration of Richard's life on April 2 at 2 p.m. at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Burke, VA. The service will be livestreamed from the church's website. Richard's wish was, in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory be made to the Richard Allen Curtis Fund for Design Students at the NCSU College of Design at go.ncsu.edu/curtisdesignfund.