Services will take place Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at Memorial Funeral Home, Columbia, MO, with visitation from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. and funeral services to follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment with full military honors will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery, Sedalia, MO.
Curtis was born on July 22 1947 in Red Springs, North Carolina, the son of Anne McGirt. He was raised by his step-parents, John and Sarah Sanderson. He lived the early part of his childhood in North Carolina before moving to Cocoa, Florida.
Curtis is survived by his wife, Debbie; one daughter, Ginger Massey of Philadelphia, Mississippi; three step-children, Todd (Mellissa) Irvin of Columbia, Sheila (Gale) Lenger of Wooldridge, and Andrea Irvin of St. Louis; two grandsons, Dalton Atkisson and Jonathan Breedlove; four great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; two sisters, Sarah Lowery of Cocoa, Florida and Dorothy Coen of Charleston, SC; and one brother, Jon McNeal of Atlanta, GA. He was preceded in death by his mother, Anne McGirt; two sisters, Wanda Royal and Geraldine Sanderson; his step-parents, Sarah and John Sanderson; his beloved grandmother, Callie McGirt; two brothers, John Ancle McGirt and Winford (Jim) Sanderson; and two beloved uncles, Junior McGirt and Winford McGirt.
He wanted to remember his brother in war, Melvin, who was killed in action in Vietnam. Junior had never forgotten him and they are now reunited. He also wanted to keep alive the memory of those in the 173rd Airborne Brigade who paid the ultimate sacrifice, that they shall never be forgotten.