Curtis Welby Thomas

Curtis (Curt) was a storyteller, master barbecuer, begonia whisperer, professional armchair referee and backseat driver extraordinaire. He was the salt of the earth and had more integrity in his pinky than most will ever have in their lifetime. He was loved and cherished by all who knew him and was chastised and traded insults with only his closest of friends.

Curt was born to Otha Wade Thomas and Cleota Rachel Thomas in Stanberry, Missouri on May 16, 1935. Sergeant Thomas served his country for four years in the US Army and was a linguist, studying German and Russian at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language in Monterey. He was stationed in Germany and brought back many trinkets, beer steins, and even a Volkswagen Bug.

A god fearing and deeply religious man (although you would never know it because he never preached or pushed his beliefs on others), Curt graduated from Northwest Missouri State University, with a Degree in Business with a focus on economics. He later received a Master’s Degree in Education from Santa Clara University and was a teacher, a counselor and a football coach. Curt transitioned from a career in education to a career in business and was a sales executive at Commerce Clearing House and then worked at Skyway Freight until he retired in 1997. He and his wife Kay moved from the Bay Area to Las Vegas and Curt became a Golf Marshall at Paiute Golf Resort.

The ladies in his life were a diverse and select group of accomplished women. He particularly fancied the smart, strong independent types. He loved his mom Cleota Rachel Thomas (deceased), with his whole heart, who with the help of her sisters, raised Curtis to fear and love the Lord and follow the golden rule: do what you say you are going to do and if you are on time, you’re late.

In 1960, after going back home and breaking the news that he had met the love of his life in San Francisco to his then fiancée, Curtis married his life partner, Kathleen Marie (deceased), a business major from the University of Idaho, in a small wedding in Carmel, California. In 1970, they adopted their only daughter, Lynn Kathleen and Curt taught her how to love her children unconditionally, how to make sacrifices and put others first, the value of figuring things out on your own and how to be a good (amazing) neighbor.

Curt took fashion cues from no one. His signature look was a collared golf shirt, windbreaker and baseball cap, all embroidered with Paiute Golf Resort, khaki shorts or pants with a belt, worn at or just below the navel, designed by the fashion house Land’s End. After 5pm, he would pair his khaki bottoms and golf shirt ensemble with a half-chewed cigar and glass of Chardonnay, but always with a parting “god bless” and an extended, warm handshake.

Curt is survived by his daughter, Lynn Svitenko and her husband Greg Svitenko and their daughter Tallulah Svitenko. Lynn’s two daughters from a previous marriage, Ashly Langford and Samantha Cowan, Samantha’s husband Beau Cowan and their daughter Sterling Cowan, Curt’s great granddaughter. Also survived by cousins and their extended families, Vicky Lynn Dougan and Richard Campbell, who are the children of two of Curt’s most favorite humans, Geraldine and Bill Campbell (both deceased). Also survived by the second love of his life that he met after Kathleen passed away, Dori Ursem, who made the final years of his life worth living and whom he shared some of the most joyous and loving years of his life with.

He will always be remembered as a gentleman, the type that you don’t come across much anymore, an exceptional human being and, to his daughter, the best there ever was.