Audrey Curtis' Obituary
Audrey Nordquist Curtis, formerly Audrey Nordquist O’Neill, died on Jan 9, 2018, one month shy of her 97th birthday, in Charlotte, North Carolina where she had resided since 2014.
A longtime resident of Robbinsville and Hamilton Township with her husband Frederick “Bud” Curtis, she was a devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother and an enthusiastic traveler. She and Bud were known and loved for dedication and willingness to serve others at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church in West Windsor.
Her example of a life well lived started in Orange, NJ, where she was born on February 9, 1921 to Ronald and Mathilde Nordquist, and included childhood travels to Europe with her family and a cruise on the tall ship Yankee when she was sixteen before graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ in 1938 and graduating from the Connecticut College for Women in 1942, where she met her first husband, Coast Guard Academy graduate Louis T. O’Neill (who died in 1974) and a cadre of lifelong friends.
Her travels across the country during and after WWII paused while raising her surviving children Marilyn, Mark and Gary O’Neill in Potomac, MD, Mountain Lakes, High Bridge and Robbinsville, NJ She married Frederick Curtis in 1977 and while living in Robbinsville and Hamilton Square (n 2000), she again started seeing the country and the world, visiting lifelong friends, learning new things through Elderhostel and being a constant, loving presence in the lives of her three children, nine grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren, as well as her sister, Gladys Pike and her children, and grandchildren.
Moving to North Carolina in 2014 for her health, she was a happy ambassador for her new life in an assisted living care facility and enjoyed being in the midst of many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was a constant source of strength, wisdom, inspiration and happiness to all around her, and a model of resilience and enthusiasm each and every day of her life.
The family will hold a memorial celebration of her life in February, 2018 in Charlotte NC and suggest donations be sent to Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church, West Windsor NJ to honor her faith, or to the United Services Organization (USO) reflecting Audrey’s s support for our armed services.
James Funeral Home is serving the family and condolences may be sent to them at www.jamesfuneralhomelkn.com.
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