James "Jimmy" Edward Curbow

Funeral services for James Edward “Jim” or “Jimmy” Curbow, 88, will be held at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, at the Garrison Funeral Home.  Visitation will be shortly before the service at the funeral home from Noon to 1:00 pm.  Following the service, interment will be at the Holly Springs Cemetery.

Jim Curbow passed away in Katy, Texas on September 21, 2023.  He was born in Rusk County, Texas, on May 9, 1935, and was the oldest of the six children born to Ouida and Willis D. Curbow.  He grew up working hard on the family farm near Garrison.  He graduated from Garrison High School in 1952 and joined the Air Force.  When his service ended, he first attended Stephen F. Austin University for two years and then transferred to Texas A&M, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1960.  He met and married his wife, Marisue, a West Texas girl, in 1961 while they were both working in Wichita Falls.  They would go on to enjoy a happy and harmonious 62 years together.

He had a varied and rewarding career as an electrical engineer -- working at Western Electric, Continental Electronics, Southland Paper Mill, Texas Instruments, and the Superconducting Super Collider.  He worked two separate stints at Continental Electronics in Dallas, designing and building very low frequency transmitters for submarine communications in Hawaii, Panama, Norway, Germany, Japan, and Puerto Rico.  His family was happy to accompany him on many of these overseas assignments.  Jim was thrilled to return to his beloved East Texas for retirement in 2002; he and Marisue lived just outside of Nacogdoches, where he spent his time working in his big vegetable garden, hunting, and fishing, as well as volunteering with the First Methodist Church and the Masonic lodge in Garrison.  In 2017, he and Marisue moved to Houston to be close to their daughter and her family.

Everyone who knew Jim looked up to him because they saw how happily and abundantly he fulfilled the responsibilities in his life – as a family man, as a friend, as an engineer, and as a Christian.  He was devoted to his entire family, who knew they could rely on him in any situation for incredibly capable help and great advice.  He will be remembered for his keen intelligence and mechanical aptitude; he truly excelled in his work as an engineer, and he had an almost magical ability when it came to household repairs.  Sadly, all these qualities disappeared when Alzheimer’s disease snuck in like a thief and gradually stole them all away.  Jim lived with Alzheimer’s for over ten years.  From late 2021 until his death, he was a resident in the memory care unit at the Reserve at Katy.  The family wishes to thank the staff there as well as at Hospice Plus for their dedicated care.

Preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Dwight “Hank” Curbow and Billy Curbow, his brother-in-law Hayes Adkison, and his great-nephew Bryson Adkison, Jim is survived by his wife Marisue Curbow, daughter Melanie Whelan and husband Mike, son Chris Curbow and wife Courtney, and grandsons Ben Whelan, Matt Whelan, and Townes Curbow, as well as by his sisters Marie Adkison and Jeannie Butler and husband Gary, brother Joe Curbow and wife Regena, and sister-in-law Stephani Curbow.  He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation in Jim’s name to the First Methodist Church of Garrison, PO Box 327, Garrison, TX, 75946-0327.

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