 |
|
BURLINGRTON — David W. Curtis, 61, died on Saturday, Aug. 7, 1999, at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont.
David Curtis was born on April 15, 1938 in Montpelier, Vermont. He was a graduate of the Montpelier public schools. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1960 and from Boston College Law School in 1963. After graduation from law school, he became a member of the Vermont Bar. He was engaged in private practice of law in Burlington through 1977. From 1977 through 1980 he was the deputy defender general and correctional facilities defender for the state of Vermont.
In 1980, David moved to Columbia, Tennessee and became senior counsel at Legal Services of South Central Tennessee. From 1983 through 1985, he was the director of Dakota Plains Legal Services in Mission, South Dakota.
David returned to Vermont in 1985; through 1987, he was the defender general of the state of Vermont. He returned to the private practice of law in 1987. In 1989, he was a co-founder of the firm of Hoff, Curtis, Pacht, Cassidy, and Frame, P.C. where he practiced until his retirement in 1995.
David was a devoted father and cared deeply about his three children, who survive him: David W. Curtis, Jr. of Burlington, Julia A. Curtis of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Christopher J. Curtis of Seattle, Washington. Their mother, Nanci-Ames Curtis, M.D. resides in Rockport, Maine. David is also survived by his brothers, Newell Curtis, Richard Curtis, George Curtis, and his sister, Dorothy Lane, of Laramie, Wyoming.
As an attorney, David was a skillful and compassionate advocate. His clients included the humble and the powerful, for he gave freely of his talents and his time to all who asked. He was a longtime member of the Vermont Bar Association and was admitted to practice in the states of Tennessee and South Dakota and before the Blackfoot Tribal Court. He served as a longtime member of the Vermont Judicial Nominating Board.
For many years, David was active in Vermont politics. He served in the Vermont House of Representatives as the member from the town of Charlotte, 1975 to 1976. He was a candidate for attorney general in 1976. He served as chair for the Burlington City Democratic Committee and was a member of the Vermont Democratic State Committee. In 1996, he was a candidate for the State Senate from Chittenden County. In 1997, he became Vermont's Democratic National Committeeman and then became the Chair of the Vermont State Democratic Party. He served in this position through the date of his death.
He was a tireless advocate for civil rights and human rights in Vermont. In 1969, he was lead counsel in the case that struck down Vermont's law against abortion. He served on the Board of Trustees of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Dismas House, Lambda Legal Defense Education Fund in Washington, D.C., Vermont CARES, and the Vermont PWA Coalition. David served as a member of the Burlington Human Rights Council and was a member of the Vermont Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission.
He received the Vermont ACLU Lifetime Achievement Award and Civil Liberties Award, and the NAACP Outstanding Service Award in 1990. The Vermont Coalition for Lesbian & Gay Rights recognized David with their Leadership Award. In 1996, he was the first recipient of the David W. Curtis Award, an award given by Vermont CARES for service to the AIDS community.
Among his many accomplishments were the co-founding of the Samara Foundation of Vermont, a charitable foundation created to support and strengthen the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities of Vermont. He remained vice-president at the time of his death. He was a founding member of the Vermont Women's Health Center. David also served on the Board of Trustees of the American Civil Liberties of Vermont, Vermont National Abortion Rights Action League, and the AIDS Action Council in Washington D.C.
Services were held on Wednesday, August 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Burlington on 152 Pearl St.
The Umbrella Fund of the Comprehensive Care
Clinic at the University Health Care Center, attn:
Dr. Christopher Grace
1 S. Prospect St.
Burlington, VT 05401
Samara Foundation of Vermont
P.O. Box 1263
Burlington, VT 05402.
The ACLU of Vermont
110 E. State St.
Montpelier, VT 05602
