Obituary of Edna Curtis

EDNA MAE CURTIS Services for Edna Curtis will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at the Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico, followed by a committal service at Glen Oaks Memorial Park. In this precarious world, it is nice to know there are people who anchor you to your moorings. Edna Mae Curtis was such a person. A steady, perseverant little soul who, until she was gone, did not fail to encourage, inspire, tickle you and love you with her big, big heart. Edna Mae (Eddie) Curtis was born November 14, 1922 in Elko, Nevada to Henry Ralph Schmidt, a Miner, and Edith Fleming Schmidt, an Assayer. As a young child, she learned early that life could be difficult. She lost her mama to pneumonia at age 3 months and her Aunt Lida Schmidt and her Father and Grandmother Abigail Byrne, raised her, spending much of her childhood in Tuscorora and Lamoile, Nevada. Many times she accompanied her Aunt Lida through the Ruby Mountains on horseback, her Aunt being a nurse, she helped attend to wounds, sicknesses, childbirths and also animal births. Edna Mae also rode to school for miles on her half blind horse, Jiggity Jig. Edna Mae worked hard on her grandfathers ranch doing many things, one of which was helping her grandma serve huge meals to the ranch hands every night. Edna Mae was a wonderful cook. Edna Mae attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and evidence of that is in her beautiful paintings she painted that are all over her house and also in others homes as gifts. She attended Healds Business College, also doing some modeling to make ends meet. At age 22, she met and married a handsome Navy Fighter Pilot, Archibald William "Bill" Curtis, known as Bill. They had just celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. Theirs is a forever kind of love. They raised 3 children, Bernard, Lynn, and Laurel. They lost their precious daughter, Lynn Alison Curtis Jessee, age, 20, in 1969. "Eddie" (as she liked to be called) was very involved with their church; Bidwell Presbyterian. One of her much beloved jobs was as a secretary at Hamilton City Elementary School. There, she met Ray Thompson, the principal, and his wife Inger Lisa, they have been life long friends. Survivors include her husband, "Bill" Curtis; her son, Bernard Willam Curtis and his wife Linda, along with grandson, Brian Curtis and wife Shayne, and their three boys, Kameron, Karson and Kyle of Italy. Granddaughter, Heather Lynn Somerdyke, her husband Paul and their 2 children, Alexis and Gabe of Italy. Step-Granddaughter, Heidi Gabelman of Reno; step-grandson, Jeff and Kristopher Gablemen of Gardnerville; step-grandaughter, Lori Britton and and husband Dan, and their Mason Britton. Edna Mae's daughter, Lynn Jessee who married Steve, left behind a son, Stephen Norval Jessee of Anderson CA, who, with his wife Margo, have a daughter, Emilynn. Laurel Posey, married to Dyrk have two sons, Samuel Posey of Chico, married to Ama with son, Bjorn Posey, and daughter, Ula Posey. Also Laurel and Dyrks son, Benjamin Posey and wife Serra. Eddie is also survived by 2 nieces by her brother Walt, Edith Schmidt and Patti Finnigan. I cannot fit into this small space what my Mama meant to all of us and many more, we wish the angels could've held off a little longer before whisking her away as she slept peacefully in the night, but I guess she was just too irresistible.