Benjamin Franklin Curtis Jr., 91, of Athens, AL, passed away on August 31, 2012.
Mr. Curtis was born July 6, 1921 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Benjamin Franklin Curtis Sr. and Ida Belle Vandergriff. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees on the Island of Okinawa. In 1951, he and his wife, Wilma, moved their family to Alabama from Summertown, TN. He began a career with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and in 1958 joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) working as an Electronic Specialist Manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center Test Lab until his retirement in 1975. His involvement in the space program included speaking the countdown for the first televised static missile test at Redstone Arsenal, work on the first launch facility at Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Florida and was a member of the Saturn V/Apollo launch team. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, affectionately known as Daddy Ben. He was a true outdoorsman and his passions in life were hunting, fishing and working on his farm. He was a faithful member of the Eastside Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 71 years, Wilma Nafe Curtis; son, Kevin Alan Curtis; 8 brothers, William Robert Curtis, Joseph Owen Curtis, Leonard Franklin Curtis, Eugene Curtis, James Boss Curtis, George Leo Curtis, Thomas Alton Curtis and John W. Curtis; 1 sister, Euna Curtis Moore; and a daughter-in-law, Patricia Tarkington Curtis.
He is survived by sons, Ronald Curtis and Joe Curtis and wife Vicki; daughter, Diane Wildenstein and husband Hank; grandsons, Phillip Curtis and wife Jana, Jonathan Curtis and wife Debbie; granddaughters, Laura Curtis, Leah Pierce and husband Kirk, Maria Fronckowiak and husband Jamie, Amanda Hobbs and husband Jessie, and Johanna Curtis; 13 great-grandchildren, and many friends, neighbors, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Limestone Chapel Funeral Home. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
Mr. Curtis was born July 6, 1921 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Benjamin Franklin Curtis Sr. and Ida Belle Vandergriff. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees on the Island of Okinawa. In 1951, he and his wife, Wilma, moved their family to Alabama from Summertown, TN. He began a career with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and in 1958 joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) working as an Electronic Specialist Manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center Test Lab until his retirement in 1975. His involvement in the space program included speaking the countdown for the first televised static missile test at Redstone Arsenal, work on the first launch facility at Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Florida and was a member of the Saturn V/Apollo launch team. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, affectionately known as Daddy Ben. He was a true outdoorsman and his passions in life were hunting, fishing and working on his farm. He was a faithful member of the Eastside Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 71 years, Wilma Nafe Curtis; son, Kevin Alan Curtis; 8 brothers, William Robert Curtis, Joseph Owen Curtis, Leonard Franklin Curtis, Eugene Curtis, James Boss Curtis, George Leo Curtis, Thomas Alton Curtis and John W. Curtis; 1 sister, Euna Curtis Moore; and a daughter-in-law, Patricia Tarkington Curtis.
He is survived by sons, Ronald Curtis and Joe Curtis and wife Vicki; daughter, Diane Wildenstein and husband Hank; grandsons, Phillip Curtis and wife Jana, Jonathan Curtis and wife Debbie; granddaughters, Laura Curtis, Leah Pierce and husband Kirk, Maria Fronckowiak and husband Jamie, Amanda Hobbs and husband Jessie, and Johanna Curtis; 13 great-grandchildren, and many friends, neighbors, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Limestone Chapel Funeral Home. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
Benjamin Franklin Curtis Jr., 91, of Athens, AL, passed away on August 31, 2012.
Mr. Curtis was born July 6, 1921 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Benjamin Franklin Curtis Sr. and Ida Belle Vandergriff. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees on the Island of Okinawa. In 1951, he and his wife, Wilma, moved their family to Alabama from Summertown, TN. He began a career with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and in 1958 joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) working as an Electronic Specialist Manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center Test Lab until his retirement in 1975. His involvement in the space program included speaking the countdown for the first televised static missile test at Redstone Arsenal, work on the first launch facility at Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Florida and was a member of the Saturn V/Apollo launch team. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, affectionately known as Daddy Ben. He was a true outdoorsman and his passions in life were hunting, fishing and working on his farm. He was a faithful member of the Eastside Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 71 years, Wilma Nafe Curtis; son, Kevin Alan Curtis; 8 brothers, William Robert Curtis, Joseph Owen Curtis, Leonard Franklin Curtis, Eugene Curtis, James Boss Curtis, George Leo Curtis, Thomas Alton Curtis and John W. Curtis; 1 sister, Euna Curtis Moore; and a daughter-in-law, Patricia Tarkington Curtis.
He is survived by sons, Ronald Curtis and Joe Curtis and wife Vicki; daughter, Diane Wildenstein and husband Hank; grandsons, Phillip Curtis and wife Jana, Jonathan Curtis and wife Debbie; granddaughters, Laura Curtis, Leah Pierce and husband Kirk, Maria Fronckowiak and husband Jamie, Amanda Hobbs and husband Jessie, and Johanna Curtis; 13 great-grandchildren, and many friends, neighbors, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Limestone Chapel Funeral Home. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
Mr. Curtis was born July 6, 1921 in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee to Benjamin Franklin Curtis Sr. and Ida Belle Vandergriff. He was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees on the Island of Okinawa. In 1951, he and his wife, Wilma, moved their family to Alabama from Summertown, TN. He began a career with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and in 1958 joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) working as an Electronic Specialist Manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center Test Lab until his retirement in 1975. His involvement in the space program included speaking the countdown for the first televised static missile test at Redstone Arsenal, work on the first launch facility at Cape Canaveral (Kennedy) Florida and was a member of the Saturn V/Apollo launch team. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, affectionately known as Daddy Ben. He was a true outdoorsman and his passions in life were hunting, fishing and working on his farm. He was a faithful member of the Eastside Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife of 71 years, Wilma Nafe Curtis; son, Kevin Alan Curtis; 8 brothers, William Robert Curtis, Joseph Owen Curtis, Leonard Franklin Curtis, Eugene Curtis, James Boss Curtis, George Leo Curtis, Thomas Alton Curtis and John W. Curtis; 1 sister, Euna Curtis Moore; and a daughter-in-law, Patricia Tarkington Curtis.
He is survived by sons, Ronald Curtis and Joe Curtis and wife Vicki; daughter, Diane Wildenstein and husband Hank; grandsons, Phillip Curtis and wife Jana, Jonathan Curtis and wife Debbie; granddaughters, Laura Curtis, Leah Pierce and husband Kirk, Maria Fronckowiak and husband Jamie, Amanda Hobbs and husband Jessie, and Johanna Curtis; 13 great-grandchildren, and many friends, neighbors, nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Limestone Chapel Funeral Home. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
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