Abiographical information form that LeGrand R. Curtis filled out when he was called as a counselor in Salt Lake's Olympus Stake presidency in 1960 called for a listing of "leisure time hobbies and activities." In the space provided, he wrote: "Church and family."
Elder Curtis, who was sustained April 1 to the Second Quorum of the Seventy, might well write those same words 30 years later, since his family and the Church are still at the center of his interests.At the time of his call as a General Authority, Elder Curtis, an orthodontist, was a patriarch in the Salt Lake Holladay Stake and a sealer inO the Salt Lake Temple. Also, he was teaching an eight-week-cycle temple preparation class in his stake, which he has done for the past four years.
Elder Curtis, 65, has been a regional representative, mission president, stake president, stake president's counselor, bishop and a counselor in the Aaronic Priesthood MIA general presidency, as well as a gospel doctrine teacher and organist.
He and his wife, Patricia Glade Curtis, have four sons and four daughters, all of whom are married. They have 27 grandchildren.
One of his sons, Lee, said, "I don't remember my dad really having hobbies or interests of his own. He has always been totally consumed in doing whatever it takes to make other people happy. He has always been very committed to supporting us in different things we have been involved in.
Lee remembered playing basketball in junior high school and looking up in the stands and seeing a sea of seventh, eighth and ninth graders, and in the middle was his 5-foot-11-inch dad. "He would work his schedule to be at things like that," Lee said.
A daughter, Sydney Lindsley, spoke of Elder Curtis' interest in his family. "He had a big table built so we could all sit at the table together," she said. "The table was significant because Dad always made a point to be home for dinner. He made sure we had kneeling prayer around that table, and he would sit with us at the table as we did homework. We've had lots of talks around that table.
"Nearby were always eight copies of the Book of Mormon, which he would distribute to us after dinner. We had a practice of reading at least one chapter each night. Although we have all married and Mom and Dad have moved to a smaller home, they've kept that table."
The table still gets plenty of use. Seven of the eight children live in the Salt Lake Valley. They go to their parents' home with their spouses on the first Sunday of each month, visit and have refreshments for half an hour, and then Elder Curtis presents a lesson to the family.
Having his own children gather frequently is only one of the traditions he has borrowed from his parents, Alexander R. and Genevieve Raine Curtis.
"My earliest recollection is of our family kneeling in prayer," Elder Curtis recalled. "Someone once said, `Be what you want to see.' My folks set the pattern. We went to Church. Father was an extremely hard worker; he had to be to support a family of eight boys and two girls. He was in the coal business and was forever sending coal to widows or others. My mother was Relief Society president, and she was always taking food to neighbors or someone in need.
"When I was born, my father was a counselor in the Sugar House Ward to Bishop LeGrand Richards (who later became the Presiding Bishop of the Church and a member of the Council of the Twelve). I was named after him. He was my role model and was always a dear, good friend."
In addition to having his parents and Elder Richards set examples for him to follow, young LeGrand Curtis grew up following in the footsteps of seven older brothers and two sisters who set some very high standards.
The sons of Alexander and Genevieve Curtis are well-known in Utah, and all have been avid Church workers. Seven of the eight have been mission presidents and five have been stake presidents. Seven served as missionaries. One of Elder Curtis' sisters died in her teens. The other sister, Alice, accompanied her husband, Milton Christensen, as he served as a mission president.
"I am the only one of the boys who did not go on a mission as a young man, and that was because World War II was going on and I was called into the service," he said. Because he had missed the opportunity to serve as a young man, he was particularly grateful to serve as president of the Florida Tallahassee Mission from 1978-81.
Elder Curtis has the ability to turn commitment to a responsibility into service, driven by love for what he has been called to do. For example, when he was 12, his bishop told him the ward needed some trained organists. Young LeGrand was sent to take 10 music lessons for $5. The bishop told him the ward would pay for half the music lessons, and his parents would pay the other half. "I suspect my folks
gave the ward its half, but the fact that the ward was paying for half my lessons made me more inclined to stay with studying the organ," he said.
From the time he was 14 until he went away to dental school, he was ward organist, and while attending dental school in Kansas City, Mo., he was organist for a Protestant church as well as for a small LDS branch. Occasionally, he still plays a piano or organ solo at Church functions.
Sister Curtis recalled the central role that music had during their courtship. "Money was scarce when we were dating so we had to be creative," she said. "He tould take me to the chapel, where I would sit and listen to him play the piano or organ. Those were great dates."
Ever since their marriage on June 1, 1944, music has had a dominant role in their home. The deciding factor in buying their present home, they said, is that the living room is large enough to accommodate their grand piano.
"Our children come over here, the girls in particular, and will sing and sing as I play for them," said Elder Curtis. "Occasionally, they will come by during the week just to sing when they feel they need a lift. They always feel better by the time they leave."
Just as music has helped bind the family, so have gospel discussions. When Elder and Sister Curtis began the tradition of the fast Sunday family gatherings, he was a gospel doctrine teacher. Sharing with his sons and daughters the precepts he had taught and learned in his own Sunday School class was a natural extension. In recent years, he has shared with them ideas from numerous institute classes he and Sister Curtis have attended.
"We really enjoy studying the scriptures," he said. "Until the weekend I was called to the Seventy, we were taking two classes each week. We just arranged our schedules so we could be in those classes."
Members of Elder Curtis' family spoke of how he has devoted his life to serving and making others happy. A son said, "I remember many snowstorms in which he was quick to grab a shovel and go clear someone's sidewalk. When he was bishop, he routinely visited not just widows but also others in the ward who needed a little extra attention. He has a way about him, kind of a contagious spirit, so that when he walks into a room, everybody's spirits are just lifted."
When the children were young, Elder Curtis was the one who took them shopping for school clothes. "He would sit in a chair and we would come out and show him our dresses," recalled one of his daughters. "With his busy schedule, that was his special way of spending some time with us."
His children remember other stories that illustrate various character traits, such as honesty. For example, he once made a deal to sell a car for a certain price, but as he was delivering the car, he discovered a minor problem. Although it could be fixed easily, he told the buyer he would sell it for a lower price.
Elder Curtis routinely has placed principles ahead of profit, a reflection of one of his favorite scriptures: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:21.)
When Elder Curtis has taught classes, or spoken to congregations as stake president or regional representative, he has based his discourses on the scriptures. "Years ago, I made up my mind that I would never speak in Church without using a scripture," he said. "The Lord has given us so much, and we have so much to learn."
(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
Elder LeGrand R. Curtis
Family: Born May 22, 1924, in Salt Lake City to Alexander R. and Genevieve Raine Curtis. Married Patricia Glade, June 1, 1944, in Salt Lake Temple; parents of four sons, four daughters; 27 grandchildren.
Education: University of Utah 1941-43; University of Kansas City (now University of Missouri at Kansas City), doctorate of dental surgery, 1946, and master of science in dentistry (orthodontics), 1950.
Military service: U.S. Army, 1943-44; U.S. Navy Reserve Dental Corps, 1946-48.
Previous Church service: President, Florida Tallahassee Mission, 1978-81; regional representative, 1970-72 and 1974-78; counselor in general presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood MIA, 1972-74; president, Salt Lake Olympus Stake, 1967-70; stake president's counselor, 1960-67; bishop, Salt Lake Holladay 5th Ward, 1956-60.
