Ruth Alden Curtis, 79, of Gorham ME, 11th generation descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, died Jan. 20, 2001, at the Kennebunk Nursing Center, after optimistically fighting Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer. She was born May 2, 1921, to Grace (Bunshaw) Burnham (24 Sep 1894 - 19 Aug. 1967) and Austin Albert Alden (19 Nov. 1893 - June 1978).
A Gorham native, she was valedictorian of her class at Gorham High School in 1938 and also Gorham Normal School in 1942, having skipped two grades. She taught elementary school in Sudbury and Boxford MA.
In 1942 she married Portland-Munjoy Hill native Staton Russell Curtis, who served in a variety of capacities, including dean of student affairs and vice president of international affairs for 25 years at Boston University. As her husband visited schools all over Europe, Mrs. Curtis served as his administrative assistant. When Dean Curtis became the first to hold this position the university had 800 foreign students. The couple's groundwork together has led to more than 8,000 foreign students at the university today. They were married for 52 years until his death in 1995.
She was successful during the 1950s and '60s at winning jingle and slogan-writing contests. A few of her prizes included a race horse, a trip to Florida, a five-appliance Hotpoint kitchen, a Howdy Doody jungle gym, roller skates, clock radios, electric can openers, a year's free supply of Burry cookies, Prince spaghetti, and Wisk detergent. All product promotions today are sweepstakes because a few talented people began to dominate the contests.
She inherited the diary of fifth-generation descendent Austin Alden, who lived during the American Revolution and served in the French and Indian War, receiving as payment the land grant in Gorham where she was born. In high school she began work on a lifetime dream of having a transcription of the diary published, completing her work after her husband's retirement, and having the volume published in 1986. Her daughters and granddaughter all walked last fall in the Kennebunk Memory Walk that nationally raised $125,000 for Alzheimer's research.
A voracious reader, she was also a stamp and coin collector, organic gardener, seamstress, enamelist, weaver, knitter, needleworker, and photographer.
She is survived by her daughters Martha Curtis of Old Orchard Beach ME and Sharon Curtis Phelan of Kingston NH; brother John Alden of Gorham; sister Ann Alden Kilgore of South Portland ME; and granddaughter Bethea Alden Phelan of Kingston NH.
(Portsmouth Herald 01/21/2001)
A Gorham native, she was valedictorian of her class at Gorham High School in 1938 and also Gorham Normal School in 1942, having skipped two grades. She taught elementary school in Sudbury and Boxford MA.
In 1942 she married Portland-Munjoy Hill native Staton Russell Curtis, who served in a variety of capacities, including dean of student affairs and vice president of international affairs for 25 years at Boston University. As her husband visited schools all over Europe, Mrs. Curtis served as his administrative assistant. When Dean Curtis became the first to hold this position the university had 800 foreign students. The couple's groundwork together has led to more than 8,000 foreign students at the university today. They were married for 52 years until his death in 1995.
She was successful during the 1950s and '60s at winning jingle and slogan-writing contests. A few of her prizes included a race horse, a trip to Florida, a five-appliance Hotpoint kitchen, a Howdy Doody jungle gym, roller skates, clock radios, electric can openers, a year's free supply of Burry cookies, Prince spaghetti, and Wisk detergent. All product promotions today are sweepstakes because a few talented people began to dominate the contests.
She inherited the diary of fifth-generation descendent Austin Alden, who lived during the American Revolution and served in the French and Indian War, receiving as payment the land grant in Gorham where she was born. In high school she began work on a lifetime dream of having a transcription of the diary published, completing her work after her husband's retirement, and having the volume published in 1986. Her daughters and granddaughter all walked last fall in the Kennebunk Memory Walk that nationally raised $125,000 for Alzheimer's research.
A voracious reader, she was also a stamp and coin collector, organic gardener, seamstress, enamelist, weaver, knitter, needleworker, and photographer.
She is survived by her daughters Martha Curtis of Old Orchard Beach ME and Sharon Curtis Phelan of Kingston NH; brother John Alden of Gorham; sister Ann Alden Kilgore of South Portland ME; and granddaughter Bethea Alden Phelan of Kingston NH.
(Portsmouth Herald 01/21/2001)
Ruth Alden Curtis, 79, of Gorham ME, 11th generation descendant of Mayflower passenger John Alden, died Jan. 20, 2001, at the Kennebunk Nursing Center, after optimistically fighting Alzheimer's disease and colon cancer. She was born May 2, 1921, to Grace (Bunshaw) Burnham (24 Sep 1894 - 19 Aug. 1967) and Austin Albert Alden (19 Nov. 1893 - June 1978).
A Gorham native, she was valedictorian of her class at Gorham High School in 1938 and also Gorham Normal School in 1942, having skipped two grades. She taught elementary school in Sudbury and Boxford MA.
In 1942 she married Portland-Munjoy Hill native Staton Russell Curtis, who served in a variety of capacities, including dean of student affairs and vice president of international affairs for 25 years at Boston University. As her husband visited schools all over Europe, Mrs. Curtis served as his administrative assistant. When Dean Curtis became the first to hold this position the university had 800 foreign students. The couple's groundwork together has led to more than 8,000 foreign students at the university today. They were married for 52 years until his death in 1995.
She was successful during the 1950s and '60s at winning jingle and slogan-writing contests. A few of her prizes included a race horse, a trip to Florida, a five-appliance Hotpoint kitchen, a Howdy Doody jungle gym, roller skates, clock radios, electric can openers, a year's free supply of Burry cookies, Prince spaghetti, and Wisk detergent. All product promotions today are sweepstakes because a few talented people began to dominate the contests.
She inherited the diary of fifth-generation descendent Austin Alden, who lived during the American Revolution and served in the French and Indian War, receiving as payment the land grant in Gorham where she was born. In high school she began work on a lifetime dream of having a transcription of the diary published, completing her work after her husband's retirement, and having the volume published in 1986. Her daughters and granddaughter all walked last fall in the Kennebunk Memory Walk that nationally raised $125,000 for Alzheimer's research.
A voracious reader, she was also a stamp and coin collector, organic gardener, seamstress, enamelist, weaver, knitter, needleworker, and photographer.
She is survived by her daughters Martha Curtis of Old Orchard Beach ME and Sharon Curtis Phelan of Kingston NH; brother John Alden of Gorham; sister Ann Alden Kilgore of South Portland ME; and granddaughter Bethea Alden Phelan of Kingston NH.
(Portsmouth Herald 01/21/2001)
A Gorham native, she was valedictorian of her class at Gorham High School in 1938 and also Gorham Normal School in 1942, having skipped two grades. She taught elementary school in Sudbury and Boxford MA.
In 1942 she married Portland-Munjoy Hill native Staton Russell Curtis, who served in a variety of capacities, including dean of student affairs and vice president of international affairs for 25 years at Boston University. As her husband visited schools all over Europe, Mrs. Curtis served as his administrative assistant. When Dean Curtis became the first to hold this position the university had 800 foreign students. The couple's groundwork together has led to more than 8,000 foreign students at the university today. They were married for 52 years until his death in 1995.
She was successful during the 1950s and '60s at winning jingle and slogan-writing contests. A few of her prizes included a race horse, a trip to Florida, a five-appliance Hotpoint kitchen, a Howdy Doody jungle gym, roller skates, clock radios, electric can openers, a year's free supply of Burry cookies, Prince spaghetti, and Wisk detergent. All product promotions today are sweepstakes because a few talented people began to dominate the contests.
She inherited the diary of fifth-generation descendent Austin Alden, who lived during the American Revolution and served in the French and Indian War, receiving as payment the land grant in Gorham where she was born. In high school she began work on a lifetime dream of having a transcription of the diary published, completing her work after her husband's retirement, and having the volume published in 1986. Her daughters and granddaughter all walked last fall in the Kennebunk Memory Walk that nationally raised $125,000 for Alzheimer's research.
A voracious reader, she was also a stamp and coin collector, organic gardener, seamstress, enamelist, weaver, knitter, needleworker, and photographer.
She is survived by her daughters Martha Curtis of Old Orchard Beach ME and Sharon Curtis Phelan of Kingston NH; brother John Alden of Gorham; sister Ann Alden Kilgore of South Portland ME; and granddaughter Bethea Alden Phelan of Kingston NH.
(Portsmouth Herald 01/21/2001)
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