Former USGA & PNGA Director Curtis Passes

Seattle resident and golf enthusiast, James A. Curtis, passed away on March 6 at the age of 80 after a long illness. During the 1980s, Curtis served a stint on the PNGA Board of Directors. He would later be elected to the USGA Executive Committee, where he served from 1992-95.

While with the USGA, he chaired their centennial celebration throughout 1995. He was also instrumental in the USGA's decision to bring the 1996 U.S. Amateur, won by Tiger Woods, and the U.S. Women's Open to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in the Portland area.

Curtis was a great friend to amateur golf in the Northwest, maintaining close ties to the Pacific Northwest Golf Association and state golf associations during his term on the USGA Executive Committee. He was a member of Seattle and Broadmoor golf clubs; he was a past president at Broadmoor. He was also a member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland.

A single-digit handicapper for much of his career, Curtis was an avid pilot, jazz musician and salmon fisherman. He served as president and CEO of Milliman, an influential Seattle actuarial firm. While not predicting future pension benefits, he also supported numerous civic groups, including Seattle's Museum of Flight and Seattle Rotary.

USGA Executive Director, David Fay said, "Jim was a class act . . . with renaissance man-type qualities."

A U.S. Navy veteran, Curtis was buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Wash., on March 11. A celebration of his life is planned for late May. Remembrances may be made to the Jim Curtis Memorial Fund at the Museum of Flight, 9494 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, WA 98108.