Curtis William "Curt" Heaviland Jr.

Curtis W. Heaviland, Jr. was born in Cannon Township, Michigan to Curtis W. Heaviland, Sr., and Mildred Laverne (Ward) Heaviland on April 21, 1927. When Curtis was 4 months old, the family left Michigan and settled near Carlton, Oregon in a logging camp. His father was employed as a steam engineer at Davis & Weber Lumber Company.

When Curtis was 4 years old, his parents divorced He remained in the Carlton, Oregon area until his mother remarried and the family moved to a farm outside of Dayton, Oregon. The family remained in the area for a short period of time and then moved back to the Carlton area where Curtis entered the first grade. This year in school was rather traumatic, as he was moved between Portland and Carlton at least six times during the school year.

Until Curtis graduated from the eighth grade in Brookings, Oregon he attended schools in a rural location between Weiser and Payette, Idaho and Royal Oak, Michigan. He entered Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Oregon after graduation. In 1944 he quit high school and enlisted in the Navy. Curtis attended boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois. After advanced training as a torpedo man, he was sent to Shoemaker, California for shipment overseas. He left the United States and picked up his ship the USS Johnnie Hutchins, DE 360 in Hollandica, New Guinea. He remained with the ship through typhoons, anti-submarine warfare and numerous convoy actions.

Curtis was discharged from the Navy as a Machinist 3rd Class in 1946. The following fall he enrolled at Graceland College, in Lamoni, Iowa. He graduated from Graceland with an associate degree in 1948. He and Kathryn Courts were married in August of 1948 and moved to Portland, Oregon. In February of 1949, Curtis was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the U. S. Amy and assigned to the Armored School at Ft. Knox, Kentucky for basic training. Upon graduation, the army assigned him to Detachment F of 7810 SCU in Grafenwohr, Germany.

After four years as range officer at the Grafenwohr sub post Curtis returned to the Armored School and assigned to the Automotive Department Additional assignments, including the 705th Tank Battalion, 4th Battalion, 35th Armor, Headquarters 102nd Infantry Division, 802nd Maintenance Battalion and last assignment Chief of the Gunnery Division of the Armored School.

Curtis was divorced from Kathryn in 1968. In August of 1970 he met Mary Joyce (Hansen) Bell and after a courtship of five months he married Joyce on January 8th, 1971. They remained as a happy couple until her death on September 13th, 2008.

During his Amy career, Curtis was able to attend the University of Maryland and Southern Illinois University where he earned his masters degree in Instructional Materials. After retirement, he worked as a fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln School in the Normandy Missouri School District, and after leaving there worked as a school librarian for the Sunrise School District. He remained at this position until he and Joyce moved to Independence in 1992. During this time, he also served as pastor of the Dittmer Community of Christ Church. He was a life-long member of the Community of Christ Church and served in many different positions therein.

Cremation is planned, with a memorial service to honor Curtis held on Saturday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m., at Open Arms Community of Christ Church, 1021 W. College Street, Independence, MO 64050.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.speakschapel.com (Arrangements: Speaks Suburban Chapel (816) 373-3600)