Curtis Edwin Grassman

Curtis Edwin Grassman was born in Kearney, New Jersey on December 7, 1942 and died August 10, 2023. His parents were Eunice and Elmer Grassman and he had 3 siblings – Marguerite, Dorothy, and Douglas. He grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Wayne High School in 1961. He attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor’s degree in American History. For that summer, he became a National Park Ranger Historian at Antietam National Battlefield. He then moved to California to go on to get his Masters and Doctorate of Philosophy Degree in 1970 at UCLA, where he also met his wife. He and Marilyn were married on December 17, 1966. After his Army duty, he taught history at UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles, and Cal State Long Beach.

Curt and Marilyn had 3 wonderful children, Colin, Tara, and Carina. He moved to Riverside in 1975 to teach history at UC Riverside where he also served as Ombudsman. He also served on the Board of Parks and Recreation in Riverside for many years. He then became Director of Summer Sessions for 23 years, retiring in 2003. He was elected to the Riverside County School Board and served from 1986 to 2003.

In 2008 he and Marilyn moved to San Francisco to be closer to Carina and her husband, James Baird, and their children. His highly-rated novel Tomorrow’s Dawn, A Master Spy’s Last Mission was published in 2020.

Curt leaves behind his wife, Marilyn, son Colin, daughter-in-law Christy, daughter Carina, son-in-law James Baird, grandsons Aidan, Owen, Miles, and Wesley, and sister Dorothy. Their daughter Tara died in 1995.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 4495 Magnolia Ave at 1 pm Saturday, August 19th with reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please offer a donation to: National Parks Conservation Association at NPCA.org.

A funeral service for Curtis will be held Saturday, August 19, 2023 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 4495 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, CA 92501. A committal service will occur Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Olivewood Memorial Park, 3300 Central Ave, Riverside, CA 92506.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AchesonandGraham.com for the Grassman family.