Richard "Richie" Curtis
High School Honors
3 basketball letters: 1st Team All-PIL as a junior and senior. On PIL championship and fourth-in-state team as a junior.
4 track & field letters: 3rd in state on 880-yard relay team as a junior. PIL champion and fourth in state in 120-yard high hurdles; On PIL and state champion 880 relay team.
Student body president as a senior.
Post-High School Career
University of Oregon, 1955-59; competed in basketball and track & field as a freshman.
B.S. degree in Pre-Law. J.D. fegree from UO Law School. Admitted to Oregon Bar in 1961.
Private law practice for 58 years. Springfield Municipal Judge for 45 years. President of Oregon Municipal Judges Association.
Played competitive racquetball and basketball into his late 50s.
Commentary
(Provided by family)
Richard Curtis came from many generations of strong Christian leaders, pastors, and evangelists. That heritage shaped the man he became: a quiet man of strength and dignity --whose faith was never loud.
He loved Jesus in an unwavering lifestyle, loving his wife and teaching his children to follow Christ. He lived his beliefs at home before he ever spoke them. He also served on the board of Willamette Christian Center during the years when it was growing through God's vision and grace.
The competitor in him never faded. He played racquetball and basketball in Lane County gyms into his late fifties, often beating players younger than himself.
Richard and June celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2026. Their family includes four children, 23 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren, a legacy of faith carried forward through every generation.
Simple, steady, and humble, he was a man of strength and dignity.
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