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Obituary for Curtis M. Dunn
Curtis Murdock Dunn, beloved husband, father, father in-law, grandfather, great grandfather, brother-in law, uncle, cousin, mentor, and a special friend to everyone, died peacefully with family by his side on May 11, 2020. Curtis was an only child born on October 31, 1935, in Peterborough, NH, to Curtis Valentine Dunn and Marion (Barnes) Dunn. He was raised in Mason, NH, and became a life-long resident. Curtis went to Mason Village School and graduated from Spaulding Memorial High School in Townsend, MA, where he played on the basketball team, nickname “Elbows Dunn”. He was even the president of his senior class. In 1949 he joined the Mason Congregational Church and has been a lifelong member. He married the love of his life, Sara Ann Moran of New Ipswich, NH, in 1956. Together they raised their family and enjoyed over 50 years of marriage. Shortly after their wedding, Curtis faithfully served his nation in the United States Army and Army Reserves and was honorably discharged in 1964. Early on in his career Curtis worked as a supervisor for the Rowse Company Cider Mill in Greenville, NH, and as a machine technician at Weyerhaeuser in Fitchburg, MA. His dream job didn’t start until 1973 when the Town of Mason hired Curtis as their first full-time Road Agent. He was the only employee and started out with two shovels, a rake, a chain-saw and an old military truck. The historic flood of 1986 tested Curtis and his crew of three, as they worked with FEMA to repair the damage. After more than 26 years as Road Agent, Curtis retired in 2000. Curtis was a proud long-time member of the Mason Volunteer Fire Department and a former Assistant Fire Chief. In 2018, he was honored by the NH Fire Service and Emergency Medical Services Committee of Merit for his 53 years of dedication to the NH Fire Service as a Deputy Warden. Curtis mentored Mason youth through 4-H leadership and working with the Junior Fire Department, the Youth Corp. and the CETA Program which provided part time help from teenagers who needed a great deal of training and supervision. Curtis believed in hard work, volunteerism and giving back to his community. Each year he looked forward to the annual Fire Department/Wolf Rockers fundraising event which he managed: the famous Mason Chicken BBQ. He broke the record for ticket sales each year. It gave him a reason to catch up with people while raising money for a great community cause, an accomplishment he was very proud of. Along with his wife Sara, Curtis was a charter member of the Mason Wolf Rockers Square Dance Club founded in 1968. They enjoyed thirty-eight years of square dancing together with their very special friends and traveling to the annual New England and National Square Dance Conventions. A “people person” defined Curtis to a tee. Everywhere he went, everyone he met, he would touch their lives through his storytelling, his sense of humor, his kindness, his joy of life, infectious smile, and that twinkle in his eye. Curtis also had a love of horse pulling and became a member of the Eastern Draft Horses Association, thus adding a whole new group of special friends to his life. Anyone who knew Curtis, knew he was a big sports fan, especially a Boston Celtics fan. For 33 years he had home game season tickets and enjoyed inviting friends and family to join him for that special experience of being at the Boston Garden. Curtis loved to tell the story that he was at the first game Larry Bird stepped out onto the parquet floor when a white dove flew into the rafters. What a thrill! Everything about Mason, Curtis loved. Some people referred to him as “The Mayor of Mason”, as he served on many town committees and was always a part of community life. One of his favorite places was Parker’s Maple Barn, he was a regular there, and the staff adored him. His 80th birthday was celebrated at Parker’s with a barn full of friends and family, including his “adopted daughter” Michelle Knowles, who managed the restaurant. His cousins from Nova Scotia made a surprise appearance adding to the excitement. Curtis and his family spent many vacations visiting his Canadian cousins who meant the world to him. Curtis is predeceased by his wife Sara, and is survived by his daughter, Susan, and her husband Jonathan Bartley, of Candia, NH; his son, Stephen, and his wife Sheila, of Mason, NH; his grandson, Stephen, of Portsmouth, NH; his grandson, Mark, and his wife Amanda, and his great-grandson, Weston, of Amherst, NH. Curtis leaves behind his special friend, Karin Eisenhaure, of Mason, NH. His family is very grateful to the staff of nurses and nurse’s assistants at the Courville of Manchester, who took great care of Curtis for more than a year. They became his second family and truly loved him. A private funeral service was held at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Mason, led by Reverend Veronica Don of the Mason Congregation Church. There will be a Celebration of Life for family and friends at a later date. In Curtis’s memory donations may be made to the Mason Fire-EMS Department, 101 Depot Road, Mason, NH, 03048, or to the Mason Congregational Church, 33 Valley Road, Mason, NH, 03048.
