Christopher Paul Curless
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Christopher Paul Curless 74, of Lompoc, CA, was carried by the angels into the presence of his beloved Lord on August 3, 2023. He was preceded in death by his parents (Dwight Curless and Gwendolyn Curless), both siblings (Diane Cohee (William Cohee), and David Curless), nephew Vincent Cohee. He is survived by his wife Gwen Curless, daughter Marquel Williams, Granddaughter Serena Lavelle and Grandson Jaxon Lavelle. Also survived by nieces Pam Cohee and Sherra Erickson (Kenny).
How do you write an obituary for the “dearest on earth to me”, as the hymn goes. So with the Lord’s strength, here goes, let me tell you about Chris and his wonderful life. Chris was born in Hawthorne, CA on June 27th 1949 to Dwight and Gwendolyn Curless. He grew up in Los Angeles close to LAX which started his love of airplanes. He would ride his bicycle to an area that overlooked the runway and watch all the activity at the airport. After graduation from Lennox HS, he attended one year of Junior College and excelled in tennis to the extent he thought he might pursue a career in that field. But God had different plans for his life. In 1968 he enlisted in the Air Force and was stationed at VAFB for four years. He was in the 4392nd Squadron in personnel (CBPO). Following his service Sgt. Curless did not re-enlist, but pursued work on base with Boeing starting his career in the purchasing field. Most of his career was as an SCA (Subcontract Administrator) with DoD Contractors on base and in Goleta, CA. He also worked for the Lompoc Unified School District and later at UCSB. He finished his career back at VAFB with ULA and retired at age 65. He was very patriotic and it hurt him to see what has become of patriotism in our America the Beautiful.
He married the love of his life on April 21, 1979, in Palmdale. “And the two became one flesh” (ChrisandGwen, all one word.) We are truly one in Christ, and did everything together. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was one of his favorite movies, and let me tell you about that life. There are many important dates that we hold dear, but the most important day of his life was March 9, 1978, the day he asked the Lord to come into his heart, was born again and received forgiveness of sin and eternal life. When we returned to the central coast in December of 1981, we decided to attend Berean Baptist Church where his father-in-law was the pastor. Chris began serving in the Church and has been faithful ever since. He will tell you he is not a pastor, only a sinner saved by grace, but did his best to keep the Church going until we could find a pastor after Dad and Mom moved to Arizona. He had many favorite portions of scripture, the 23rd Psalm being one of them. He accepted the challenge of reading the Bible through in a year from Genesis to Revelation and was so blessed to be able to accomplish this.
Chris had many hobbies. Because of his love for flying he pursued and received his private pilot’s license. He loved woodworking, photography, gardening, fishing, cars, and planes. He enjoyed car shows and airshows and just plain old cruising around up the coast to Pismo and beyond. He loved road trip vacations, especially Yosemite and Yellowstone appreciating God’s beautiful creations. He loved cats, but didn’t know it until we had our first Persian cat, and we have never been without at least two cats since. He also loved baseball and enjoyed many trips down to Anaheim to watch the Angels games. Side note, he loved the Dodgers when he was growing up in LA, but it was a different team then. Chris loved music. We loved the older country western songs and when we would hear a love song, we would dedicate it to each other whoever said it first. But the music he loved the most were the old hymns that he would sing every Sunday. His favorite was “It Is Well with My Soul”, but he loved them all.
He loved getting together with friends and just simply visiting and enjoying each other’s company. He had quite the sense of humor and when something made him laugh he would get so tickled he would have tears in his eyes. He listened to people and cared about their needs. He was so compassionate. He had the gift of encouragement, giving, serving, and praying for others. He was honored to officiate at three different memorial services. He used every opportunity to tell others about Jesus. Chris lived his life for Christ and touched so many lives. “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Please join us at the Berean Baptist Church in Los Olivos at noon on August 26th to celebrate the life of Chris Curless. To all that have read this memorial to Chris, his prayer would be that you too would know the peace that passeth all understanding that comes with knowing Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
P.S. Don’t miss Heaven for the world.
