In loving memory of
Lieselotte Curtis
December 29, 1928 - January 20, 2018
Lieselotte Loeffler Curtis, age 89, of Emerson, Iowa passed away Sunday, January 21, 2018, at the Good Samaritan Society in Red Oak, Iowa. Lieselotte Lissi Curtis, the daughter of Anna Pfab and later adopted by Johann Loeffler, was born in Nuernberg, Germany, on December 30, 1928. She lived through the troubled years of the Third Reich and the devastation of World War II. Lissi was studying business, accounting, and foreign languages, including English, when the war began, but the war eventually brought her formal education to an end. Because of this schooling, she was assigned to work for the U.S. Army (Special Investigation Section) in 1946, and it was in this position that she met George William Curtis. The couple married on November 20, 1952, in Nuernberg, and sailed for the U.S. in March 1953. Three children were born to this unionAlyce Bianka, Susan Kay, and Larry Edwin. George preceded her in death on April 21, 1989.
Thanks to her work transcribing statements from U.S. servicemen involved in criminal activity, Lissi gained an impressive command of idiomatic English before she and George settled into their first home in Iowa, a farmhouse about a mile east of Hastings, Iowa. Lissi became a U.S. citizen in 1956, just three years after her arrival. In 1957 she and George moved into a home in Emerson, where she lived until 2013.
In 1967, Lissi accepted a position at the Emerson State Bank, a branch of the First National Bank of Omaha. Over the next quarter century, she was a fixture in the bank, a reliable and trusted employee, who eventually was named an executive vice-president. She retired in 1994. Lissi was a member of the Emerson Community Club, the United Methodist Church, and the American Legion Womens Auxiliary.
Those who knew Lissi best, no doubt, remember how much she enjoyed playing cards, Bingo, and Scrabble with family and friends. She was proud of and devoted to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Since 2013, she had been struggling with the worsening effects of Parkinsons disease, which robbed her of her mobility, independence, and her radiant smile. In that year, she moved to Arlington Place in Red Oak, where she resided until August 2017, when she was moved to the Good Samaritan.
She is survived by her children Bianka (Tom) Honeyman of Emerson, Susan (Charles Cutter) Curtis of West Lafayette, Indiana, and Larry (Donna) Curtis of Norman, Oklahoma; seven grandchildren Jeremy (Amy) Carlo of Fallon, Nevada, Jon (Jamie) Carlo of Glenwood, Kate (Scott) Engel of Lincoln, Nebraska, Mary Honeyman of Des Moines, William Honeyman of San Diego, California, Lauren Curtis and Wesley Curtis, both of Norman, Oklahoma; seven great-grandchildren, a niece, a nephew, and a number of great-nieces and great-nephews, as well as many friends in the community.
Funeral services will be held 10 AM Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at the Emerson United Methodist Church. Burial will be in the Emerson Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held from 6-8 PM Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at the Nelson-Boylan-LeRette Funeral Chapel in Red Oak. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to either the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research or the Emerson United Methodist Church. The family also welcomes your fond memories of Lissi.
Nelson-Boylan-LeRette Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
To read the full obituary, please click here: http://www.nblfuneralchapel.com/memorial.asp?mem_id=1607