F. Dale Curfman Farrel Dale Curfman, 91, died October 8, 2017 at his home in Olympia, WA. Dale was born on August 14, 1926, in Clayton, NM. His family homesteaded in Amistad, NM, and when he was seven, they left the Dust Bowl and moved to Washington State to pursue new opportunities. Shortly after moving, his father Fred passed away, and his mother, Edith, Dale, and two sisters, Darlene and Elfreda, moved to McCleary, WA, where they boarded mill workers. They later moved to Eugene, OR. Dale attended Eugene High School, but in 1945, before graduating, he joined the Navy where he served on the USS Kline as an electrician's apprentice during World War II. After he was discharged in 1946, he returned to Eugene, where he graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in business. At the U of O, he met Roberta at a softball game and their lifelong love story began. Dale and Roberta married in 1949. In 1950, they both quit their jobs for a six-month honeymoon to Alaska, which started their lifetime of adventures. Their daughters, Jill, Jane, Gay and Nancy, were born in the 1950s. In 1956, Dale started working for the Oregon State Highway Department. In 1960, he joined the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, later named the Federal Highway Administration, where he appraised land for the interstate highway. He retired in 1988. Dale's career took the family to Eugene, Roseburg, Medford, La Grande, Boise, Denver, and Olympia. Dale loved camping, canoeing, reading, gardening, woodworking, traveling with Roberta, and being active in the First Christian Church of Olympia. When the church first started a shelter for the homeless, he and Roberta often volunteered to spend the night at the shelter with the residents. There wasn't a summer or winter that didn't involve a trip in the station wagon, usually towing a travel trailer. Dale especially loved canoe trips with his daughters and grandchildren. After retirement, he and Roberta traveled frequently to Hawaii, and the Southwest, spending many winters in their trailer in Desert Hot Springs, California. Dale knew how to work hard and have fun. He was a genuinely kind man, with a great wit, who loved his family, and cared about friends, neighbors, and strangers. He kept up with national and global news, and loved to discuss current events. Dale and Roberta showed others how to enjoy retirement. They stayed in touch with lifelong friends through cards and visits, and when they traveled, they often brought a grandchild to enjoy the adventure. Dale is survived by his sister, Freda; his four daughters; 10 grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday, October 21, 2017, 1 p.m.at First Christian Church of Olympia, 701 Franklin St. SE. A graveside service is scheduled for Monday, October 23, 2017, 2:00 p.m.at Greenwood Cemetery, 12th and NE Hawthorne, Bend, OR. Please share memories at
www.FuneralAlternatives.org.
Guestbook