Curtis, Paul Makepeace

Paul Makepeace Curtis a former FBI, OSS and government 
agent who lived in Tucson for 40 years, died Tuesday, 
February 16, 2010. He was 93. A native of Greensboro, 
N.C., and graduate of Duke University, Mr. Curtis spent 25 
years as an investigator and supervisory investigator for 
the U.S. government following early work as a radio 
broadcaster and newspaper reporter in Georgia. From 1942 
to 1944, he served as a special agent for the FBI in Boston, 
Philadelphia and El Paso. As a special agent for the Office 
of Strategic Services (OSS) under William J. "Wild Bill" 
Donovan, during World War II, Mr. Curtis ran counter-
espionage networks into occupied China, apprehended 
collaborators, collected information for the U.S. State 
Department and occupied Tientsin before the arrival of the 
Marines. He later worked for the War Assets Administration 
in San Francisco, Honolulu and Atlanta as an investigator. 
He worked for GSA for more than 17 years with stints in 
Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, where he was 
special-agent-in-charge. His work included determining 
compliance with federal non-discrimination laws for the 
President's Committee on Equal Opportunity headed by 
then-Vice President Richard Nixon. Mr. Curtis also was 
executive director of the Tucson Urban Area Crime 
Commission for a short time. An enthusiastic traveler, 
raconteur and tennis player, Mr. Curtis leaves two 
daughters, Diane Curtis of Mill Valley and Judith Curtis 
Kuempel of Georgetown, TX; son-in-law, George Kuempel; 
grandchildren, Kate Kuempel of Georgetown, TX, Jessica 
Finefrock of Oakland and John Finefrock of Prescott, AZ 
and great-granddaughter, Riley Jane Colyer. A Celebration 
of his life will be held for friends at his house in Tucson at 
1:00 p.m., Sunday, February 21, 2010. Donations may be 
made in his name to the Lucy and Letitia Evans Curtis 
Scholarship Fund (c/o Marci Peace, V.P. Finance, 815 West 
Market St., Greensboro, N.C. 27401). The Greensboro 
College scholarship is named in honor of Mr. Curtis' sister 
and mother.

Published in the Tucson Newspapers on February 20, 2010