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Emery Curtice Jr.
March 12, 1935 - Oct. 23, 2016
Emery Curtice Jr. was born on March 12, 1935, in Westwood, Calif. (Lassen County). His parents were educators and they moved to Berkeley, Calif., when he was a young child. His father was the principal at Berkeley High School and his mother was a teacher at Garfield Elementary. He was the younger of two children.
Emery was active in school activities and athletics and played football, basketball and baseball. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 1952.
Emery enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the summer of 1952 and served in the Korean War, reaching the rank of sergeant.
Upon the conclusion of the Korean War, Emery returned to Northern California and enrolled at Santa Rosa Junior College. He also played on the football team at SRJC and was the center on offense and nose tackle on defense.
Emery began his career in San Rafael, Calif., in the late 1950s and worked as a car salesman as well as a boat salesman. For many years his automobile and boat lot was on Third Street in San Rafael. He was an active part of the Marin County business community for 30+ years.
Emery met the love of his life, Betty Ann Nicolari, in 1976, and their love grew and flourished. They were married in July of 1978. During those formative years of family life, they enjoyed boating and camping. In 1982 Emery and Betty relocated to Kenwood, Calif., in Sonoma County and began raising Arabian horses.
In 1989 Emery and Betty decided to move to Lake County, Calif., and purchased a five acre ranch on Bell Hill Road outside of Kelseyville where they raised walnuts and animals.
They began playing golf together on Cobb Mountain and initially met Hobergs Golf Course professional Les Russo and his wife Michelle. The Curtices became hooked on golf, were impressed with the Cobb Mountain golf scene, and decided to relocate to Cobb to be closer to the golf courses and their golfing friends.
They purchased a house alongside the third fairway at Adams Springs Golf Course in 1994 and became a very active part of the very lively Cobb Mountain golf scene.
Emery and Betty enjoyed retirement on Cobb Mountain and coordinated their free time with a handful of memorable trips to Hawaii as well as many concert weekends in Lake Tahoe and Reno. They even attended the 63rd birthday party of Frank Sinatra in Tahoe.
Emery was the pro shop manager at Adams Springs Golf Course for close to 10 years through the autumn of 2015. He was a very popular fixture at Adams Springs and during his time there he earned the nickname as the “Godfather of Adams Springs.”
Emery passed away quietly in his sleep during the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.
He is best remembered as a friend to many who always had a great smile. He always seemed to find time to offer advice and encouragement to the many and varied people he crossed paths with.
He was one of the all-time great storytellers. His stories were a combination of some of the more interesting aspects of human behavior mixed with humor and charm.
Once you initially met Emery, he was your friend for a lifetime. He had a heart of gold, would go out of his way to help a friend or stranger, and was one of those people who everyone knew and loved. He was an impact person who touched many people.
Emery is survived by his loving wife, Betty; six children, Debbie, John (Donna), Guy (Barbara), Daryl (Cindy), Al (Kathryn) and Toni Ann; 11 grandchildren, Kelli, Ryan, Chris, Sarah, Dana, Lexi, Sean, Linsay, John, Al and Evan; six great-grandchildren, Drew, Ethan, Garland, Owen, Haisley and Jobie; sister, Lou (Roger); and his first wife, Lynne who did an awesome job with their children.
A celebration of life will be held at the Masonic Hall in Clearlake on Saturday, Dec. 3, at noon. If you plan to attend, please contact Adams Springs Golf Course at 707-928-9992 for further information and to RSVP.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
