William Russell Curtis

William Russell Curtis died Tuesday, December 12, 2023 in Annapolis, Maryland. Bill was born May 6, 1936 in San Diego, California to Walter H Curtis Sr. and Dolores Iantha Penifield Curtis.

Bill joined the Army Reserve on November 4, 1954 and became a Private in the Army on January 3, 1955. From March 1956 through December 1956 Bill attended Officer Candidate School, Ranger, and Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

After twenty years of service in the Army, including a tour in Vietnam, Bill retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in February 1975. During Bill’s twenty years of service, he was awarded 12 awards and commendations including the Bronze Star Medal.

Bill moved on to his second career from 1975 through 1981 with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) working on contracts for the Pentagon Defense Communications Agency (DCA). Bill worked as a Systems Analyst on the Status of Resources and Training (SORTS) contract and as Section Manager on the Joint Operation Planning System (JOPS) contract.

In 1981, Bill left CSC to move on to his third career as a civil servant for the Pentagon to work on programs that he supported as a contractor. From 1981 through 2006 Bill worked on ten different Defense Information Systems Agency programs. In Bill’s final civil servant role as the Joint Operations Planning and Execution System (JOPES) Technical Director, Bill achieved the highest civil service paygrade of GS-15 Step 10. Bill retired from civil service in 2006 at the age of 70.

Bill valued family, friends, and community. He enjoyed family gatherings and get- togethers, even more so once he retired. He also enjoyed his standing weekend golf outings at the Bowie Golf Course with family and friends that he had known most of his life.

Bill is survived by his wife of 66 years, Patricia (McCarty) Curtis, his three children, Rusty Curtis (Wanda) of Louisville, KY, Ron Curtis of Kalaheo, HI, and Rhonda Bazey (Larry) of The Villages, FL, as well as his two grandchildren Cori and Alli (fiancé Jason) and two step-grandchildren Ashley (Mike) and James (Anna). He is also survived by his brothers Ted and Ray Curtis.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Walt and Armand Curtis.

The viewing and services will be held at Beall Funeral Home in Bowie, Maryland. Family and friends are welcome to join us at the viewing on Wednesday January 3, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and the service on Thursday January 4, 2024 at 1:00 pm. The burial will be held following the service at Fort Lincoln Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in the family’s name to Wounded Warriors https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org or Tunnel to Towers Foundation https:// t2t.org.