Obituary of Mary Curtis

Mary Curtis, beloved wife of the late John Curtis of Calgary, passed away peacefully at the Sarcee Hospice on Friday, October 8, 2004 after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 76 years. Mary was born at the family farm “Derrachrin” near Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on August 28, 1928. At age eighteen, she began four years of study in Winchester, England at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, culminating in a Registered Nurse designation. In 1952, she studied Midwifery in London, England at Guy’s Hospital and at Royal Northern Hospital before taking a full time position at the private London Clinic. She continued her nursing career in Westport, NZ; Sidney and Melbourne, Australia; Tucson, AZ; Merritt, BC and finally, as an operating room nurse at the General Hospital in Calgary, AB. Mary’s passion was tending her greenhouse, garden and many flowerbeds. She was an armchair archaeologist and had a deep fondness of all animals, especially cats. Mary will be dearly missed by her daughter Rosemary and her son Dean, both of Calgary; her twin sister Bertha Gill and sisters Kathleen (George) Jarman, Alice Harvey, Dorothy Wilson and Amy Goddard, all of England; Maud Richie, Betty Wilson and Evelyn Bell, and brothers, David (Betty) Wilson and Robin (Wendy) Wilson, all of Northern Ireland; sisters-in-law Marie (Dennis) Hill-Tout of Calgary and Dorris MacFarlan of Mt. Vernon, WA; brother-in-law Andrew Kurucz of Calgary, AB; and by her cousin-in-law, Milan (Agnes) Balog of Blairmore, AB. A Memorial Service will be held at Springbank Community Church (3222 Springbank Road) on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 at 2:30 p.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Samaritan’s Purse, Box 20100, Calgary Place, Calgary, AB T2P 4J2 Telephone: (403) 250-6565, or the Feline Rescue Foundation of Alberta, P.O. Box 63067, 2604 Kensington Road S.W., Calgary, AB T2N 4S5 Telephone: (403) 282-5256. In living memory of Mary Curtis, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Park Memorial Chapel, 5008 ELBOW DRIVE S.W., CALGARY, TELEPHONE: (403) 243-8200.