For immediate release
Sept. 2, 2004

Gwynneth Curtis, a former missions consultant and missionary to Eastern Europe, died Wednesday in Abilene at age 65.

A visitation is scheduled for Friday from 7-9 p.m. at Highland Church of Christ. The funeral service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Highland Church of Christ. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Eastern European Mission, Attn: Frank Farr, P.O. Box 90755, Houston, Texas, 77290.

Curtis held several positions at ACU -- alumni director, director of university events, admissions counselor -- before becoming a missions consultant in 1989, a position he held for 13 years, leaving in 2002 to work with Eastern European Mission as a missions liaison for the past two years.

Along with his wife, Joyce, Curtis spent ten years as a missionary in Austria and dedicated much of his life to training and educating missionaries.

"He exemplified the true spirit of thinking of others above himself," said Dr. Ed Mathews, professor of missions. "When his dad needed help in his accounting firm, Gwynneth quit law school to help his dad in the business. When he was here at ACU, he went out of his way to help students find support and to help churches find missionaries to send. He was a person who knocked himself out for others -- to answer questions from missionaries on the field or send them things that they couldn’t find in their country. That was his life."

Curtis was born in Amarillo and graduated from Amarillo High School. He received a degree in accounting from ACU in 1961, studied law for two years at Southern Methodist University and later earned a master’s degree in missions at ACU.

Prior to working at ACU, Curtis served as a youth minister in Dallas, a salesman, an accountant and as administrative assistant to the president at Lubbock Christian University.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; four children, Kellie Miller of San Antonio, Trellis Phillips of Madison, Wis., Cory Curtis of Lubbock, and Ryan Curtis of McKinney; his mother, Jauvada Curtis of Dallas; a sister, Margaret Majors of Garland; and seven grandchildren.

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