Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Curtis, Sandusky Wilson Hope December 25, 1978 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Dorothy Strawhand https://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008405 December 29, 2015, 7:06 pm The Virginian Pilot December 26, 1978 Sandusky Curtis, 78, Former Ledger-Star Religion Editor Sandusky Wilson Hope Curtis, 78, of 236 Talbot Hall Road, former obituary and religion editor of The Ledger-Star, died Monday in a hospital. A native of Portsmouth, he was the husband of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Marabel Curtis. Curtis, whose 38 year newspaper career began with a general assignment reporting job on the old Portsmouth Star, joined the Ledger-Dispatch in 1921. He worked for the Suffolk News-Herald from 1924-1928 and also was an employe of the Gas Engine Boat Corporation and Underwood Typewriter Co. before rejoining the staff of the Ledger-Dispatch in 1932. Shortly afterwards, in 1933, he wrote his favorite news story while on vacation. "I was a passenger on the Old Bay Line steamship City of Baltimore," he recalled in an interview, "when her sister ship, City of Norfolk, went aground in the Chesapeake Bay during the August 1933 hurricane." While the hurricane was blowing, he covered the transfer of passengers to the City of Baltimore, borrowing the ship's billing machine to type his story. Curtis, who remained on the paper after it became The Ledger-Star, covered every beat, from police to City Hall, but is best known for his work as a religion editor. There his coverage ranged from sermon topics to the establishment of Virginia Wesleyan College. He praised Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish leaders for their cooperation during his long career as religion editor, and received praise from them in return. "He is concerned with the growth and success of the churches he covers," one said. "He belongs to all the people of all the churches. Curtis, who retired in 1967. was a member of Royster Memorial Presbyterian Church. He was a 1921 graduate of Maury High School and a World War I veteran. For 22 years he also broadcast a program of religious news. Other survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Overton and Mrs. Marie C. Sams of Norfolk; a brother, George H. Curtis Jr. of Norfolk; and five grandchildren. A funeral will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. in H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, Norfolk, by Dr. William L. Wilson. Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Tidewater Rehabilitation Institute. Additional Comments: Elmwood CURTIS, SANDUSKY W I30951 Section ELM IMP, Block 67, Lot 2, Space 7 0 12/25/1978 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/norfolkcity/obits/c/curtis10330gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/vafiles/ File size: 3.0 Kb