George Burton Curtis, 87, of Sun City, AZ, died Thursday, February 20, 2014, in Arizona.
George was the third of six children born to Earl Washington and Georgia Anna Hern Curtis. He was born March 28, 1926, at Houston, MO. He received the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour at the age of 12 while attending the Ozark Baptist Church. George graduated from Houston High School in 1943 then attended the University of Missouri at Columbia. His college years were interrupted by W.W.II when he served his country for two years in the Navy Air Corps.
Following his discharge from the Navy, George returned to college and graduated in 1950 with a degree in Agronomy. He then began his career as a fertilizer salesman with a subsidiary of Conoco in Illinois. George later took a few years off from sales to ranch with Joy and Ed Norman, his sister and her husband, at Arnold, NE where he lived with the family.
In the early 1960’s, George returned to selling fertilizer and worked for Agrico/Williams in Minnesota. His territory stretched from Minnesota to northern Iowa and eastern South Dakota. He retired from Agrico/Williams in 1986 and took a job with Con Agra for another five years until fully retiring at the age of 65 in 1992. George was offered several promotions but preferred the one-to-one sales over an office job with paperwork.
On February 1, 1986, George married Arlis Smith Rossiter and immediately gained a family with his stepson, Thayne.
George is survived by his wife, Arlis, of Sun City; stepson, Thayne (Jolene) Rossiter, of Minnesota; three grandchildren, Brienna, Melody and Christopher Rossiter; two sisters, Joy (Lowell) Conrad, of North Platte, NE and Mary Ann (Klenn) Wylie, of Missouri; a brother, Franklin (Norma) Curtis, of Denver, CO; and many nieces, nephews and other family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Georgia; two brothers, Earl, Jr. and Charles; an infant sister, Alta Mae; a brother-in-law, Ed Norman; and a nephew, James Burton Curtis.
Funeral service will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 14, 2014, at the North Platte Berean Church with Pastor George Cheek officiating. Burial with military honors will follow in Fort McPherson National Cemetery. Visitation will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday March 13th at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore. Condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to Maranatha Bible Camp. Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore is in charge of local arrangements.