James (Jim) Edward Curtis

Jim was the epitome of everything a great man should be, yet he was so humble he didn’t think about or seek accolades for it. He was the patriarch, provider and wise counselor for his family and many friends. Jim’s everyday life exhibited his true faith in Jesus and his sacrificial love and generosity for family, friends and trusted business associates.

He was born September 4, 1942 to Louis & Fannie Curtis and grew up on a dairy farm in NW Arkansas. As a young man, and throughout his life, he loved fine cars and drove fast. During his younger days, when he might be found drag racing his “souped up” 1955 Chevy and 1940 Ford through the hills of NW Arkansas, he met Carolyn Jane “Janie” Pershall. They fell in love, married and had a great life with their children Gina and Chris Curtis until Janie’s untimely passing in 2006.

Jim studied tool & die engineering at vocational technical school. He and Janie soon settled in Ft Smith, AR and after a stint where he quickly became a Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard, Jim went to work at Norge/Whirlpool.

Always the trailblazer, and with a baby on the way at age 25, Jim decided to buy a local tool & die manufacturing company that was losing money. He soon turned ANGE Tooling around to become one of the largest, most successful tool & die shops in the region, with locations in Fort Smith and Little Rock. Jim went on, through sheer guts, willpower, tremendous intellect and instincts, and unmatched negotiation prowess to create several successful businesses. Arkansas-Oklahoma Machinery (AOM) was one of the largest metal-working machinery dealers in the country, only rivaled by companies from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The leaders of those companies constantly sought out Jim’s counsel and industry expertise. In the early 1990’s, Jim read the tea leaves and shifted his focus to real estate development. Together with his daughter Gina and son Chris, Curtis Properties became one of the most trusted and expert developers of high security federal government office buildings in the country. It was a highlight of Jim’s life to get to work together daily with his children.

The hallmarks of Jim’s career and life were honesty, loyalty, faithfulness, hard work, intellect, negotiation prowess, true connection with people, humility, boundless energy & immutable integrity. At his core, he was a Provider- first and foremost to his family, and then to his friends and always abundantly to his church. Jim’s most treasured investments were in family and friends.

Jim loved to fish, hunt and ski. He derived his greatest joy in providing many epic adventures for his family and friends. It was always about providing wisdom, provision and a great time for others and never about himself. He possessed MacGyver-like skills to solve any practical or life problem. One time, while launching his duck boat at 5:30 AM on a frigid morning, he accidentally locked his keys in his truck. With five boats impatiently waiting behind him, he successfully employed a wire hanger to stave off disaster in mere minutes. You could always rely on Jim to wisely solve everything and come to the rescue when you were in a jam from which you could not see a way out.

Jim was blessed to meet and marry his loving wife, Debbie. For the past 17 years they had a wonderful life in Tulsa where Jim dearly loved his life as a provider and companion to Debbie, as well as to her daughter Tishey Miller and her family. He loved his Tulsa friends and his strong church family, particularly their small group, with whom he shared weekly lunches and dominoes games. Jim was also an extremely skilled poker player, loving the action, camaraderie and strategy of the game.

Jim Curtis is survived by his wife Debbie Curtis of Tulsa, OK, daughter Gina Clark of Fort Smith, AR, and son Chris Curtis of Dallas, TX. Additionally, he is also survived by his sister Elizabeth Humphrey, son-in-law Marty Clark, daughter-in-law Lainey Curtis, step-daughter Tishey Miller, son-in-law Ryan Pagel, and grandchildren Paxton Clark, Hudson Clark, Sam Curtis, Wes Curtis, Casey Curtis, Grayson Pagel and Cooper Pagel.

A graveside burial will be held at Roselawn Cemetery in Fort Smith on December 18th. A celebration of life will be held on January 7 at Redeemer Church in Tulsa, OK located at 5415 East 101st Street. Online memories and messages to the family can be provided at www.edwardsfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jim Curtis Memorial Fund at Redeemer Church.