James Curtis Deese

James Curtis Deese, age 85, of Edmond, Oklahoma quietly passed away from natural causes while watching TV on October 31th, 2024. Curtis (as his family called him) or Jim (the name he went by with work friends, much to the confusion of anyone who had to introduce him!) was born on November 29th, 1938, to Jewel and Daniel (Dan) Deese in Gypsy OK. After Curtis graduated from Edmond High School in 1956, he enlisted in the army and was stationed in Huntsville, Alabama (or as he joked, "He fought the Russians in Alabama.") The first day there he volunteered (not usually a good military strategy) the information that he knew something about electricity. The result was that instead of marching around carrying a rifle in the Alabama heat, he was in an air-conditioned building, drinking Coca-Cola, and helping install electrical units. His luck continued when at a local church he made lifelong friends with Dudley Singleton whose family welcomed him as part of their own. After 3 thoroughly enjoyable years spent hanging out with the Singletons, exploring Monte Sano mountain with Dudley (once famously getting trapped while spelunking,) and perfecting his electrical skills at the base, he returned to Oklahoma in 1960 where he enrolled at Central State University in Edmond to study mathematics. It was there, while working on set building for the CSU theater department that he met Donna Boyd. It was love at first sight for him and with a little wooing he won her over. They were married the following spring of 1961 and the next fall welcomed a baby daughter, Toni. Two years later they would be blessed again, this time with a son, Larry.  

They both quit college that year and Curtis/Jim went to work at Rouge Electronics. He later went into partnership with fellow employee Rhett Randolph and they started their own company, Gemini Electronics (thus named because of Rhett's tendency to start sentences with "Jim and I" did this, and “Jim and I" did that.) It was about 10 years later, after Rhett moved on to another job, that Curtis/Jim found his true calling. He had always tinkered on cars and when automobiles started moving towards electrical systems in the early 80s, car dealers needed someone with knowledge of both auto mechanics and electricity who could retrain their mechanics. Curtis/Jim was a perfect fit for the job. His skill with making electronics easy to understand, combined with his dry sense of humor, made him a favorite of his students. He went to work in 1985 first with GM, and later with Workhorse Chassis. Eventually, his work allowed him to travel, and he and Donna spent the next 20-odd years crisscrossing the country from one training center to another in their motorhome. This job allowed them to indulge their joy of travel while still letting him work. 

In addition to traveling Curtis's favorite activities were reading (Louis L'Amour, Damon Runyon, and Mark Twain were favorites) watching British TV shows (As Time Goes By, One Foot in the Grave, and Keeping Up Appearances were put on repeat) and quoting from his favorite movies especially Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter. He and Donna also loved animals and owned a series of very spoiled black poodles over the years. They loved spending time with their grandchildren, Alexa, Jay, Bailey, and Aaron and the entire family bonded over the family card game of "Hell." During the past few years, Curtis developed a love for women's softball and spent hours watching OU beat (pretty much) everyone they played against!

Although he attended church when he was young, Curtis only returned to Christianity in the last few years. He was an avid viewer of a television Bible teacher and rancher named Les Feldick from Tulsa. Les's programs are available on YouTube and satellite and Curtis watched two programs a day. It was only when he contacted the organization seeking to be in one of Les's classes that he discovered that they were all recorded decades ago and Les was now deceased. The fact that they offered VHS copies of the programs probably should have been a clue. Les Feldick's casual but exhaustive teaching style and sense of humor undoubtedly appealed to the teacher in Curtis.

Curtis was predeceased in death by his beloved wife Donna. He is survived by his children: Toni Hapgood and Larry Deese, his grandchildren: Alexa Hapgood, Jay Hapgood, Bailey Williams, and Aaron Deese, his great grandchildren: Phillip Edmund Williams, Simon Curtis Williams, Lela Deese and Griffin Deese, and his sister Georgia Sparks. 

The family with celebrate Curtis's life on November 23rd with a private family gathering in Oklahoma City. His final resting place will be alongside his wife in the Wellston Oklahoma Cemetery.