Shirley May Mead Curtis was born in Decatur, Michigan on May 3, 1939 to Lawrence and Edith Mead. She grew up on a farm with two brothers, Roger and Larry. After high school, she worked in a factory. She married and had four children: Jeff, Randy, Terri, and Bruce. She later remarried to James K. Curtis whom was working in South Bend, IN. They moved to Coco Beach, FL and had a daughter, Candace. They lived in South Florida for 29 years before moving to O’Brien, FL in 1989.
She enjoyed volunteering with the Girl Scouts, sewing, arts and crafts, camping, canoeing and creating stained glass pieces. One of her favorite scouting memories was the troop trip to Mexico. Shirley was a very generous person with her time and talent. Shirley and Jim spent an amazing 53 years together. They had many memorable adventures include a trip to Italy.
She experienced increasing health challenges in her later years. In spite of this, she continued to help others by working with a youth group at San Juan Mission, sewing beautiful altar cloths, and creating beautiful shawls to donate with the Prayer Shawl Women’s group.
She made many friends over the years. She kept in touch with friends from every stage of her life, right up until the end. She was the anchor for many extended family members. She kept in touch with cousins, grandkids, aunts, uncles, and friends from high school on.
Shirley was an amazing wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and friend that will be missed by many.
The Rite of Christian Burial will be held on January 28, 2020 at 1:00 pm at San Juan Mission, Branford, FL. Visitation will be one hour before. Interment will be at St. Madeleine Catholic Memorial Garden, High Springs, FL.
