Steven Curtis

Some people live to work, chasing their careers with blind ambition. Steve Curtis was a man who worked to live, only the time he wasn’t spending where he wished he was: on his boat, out on the water, surrounded by his loving family and friends. That was where Steve truly lived, and loved. He was an incredible man, such a good-natured, fun-loving guy, a Captain to many and a friend to all.

Steve’s story began on a cold winter day in 1958, in the bustling city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Those were such tumultuous times in this country, as the Cold War continued, the Space Race began, and racial tensions mounted here at home. Yet on February 15, 1958, a cold, snowy Saturday after Valentine’s Day, George and Elaine (Deruyscher) Curtis found reason to celebrate, with the birth of a baby boy, a son they named Steven.

Steve, his brother Brad and sister Nancy grew up in the family’s home, where his dad owned and operated Curtis Auto Body in nearby Vicksburg, and his mother kept the kids in line. It was clear Steve was all boy from the get-go, too, as he loved anything with a motor he could race around town. He began racing at a very early age, cars, boats, and snowmobiles, or anything else he could get his hands on.

Steve started working in his dad’s shop at the age of 12, learning a valuable skill he would use the rest of his life, and some spending cash, too. He attended Portage schools, and by the time he reached Portage Central High School, he had solidified his reputation as a spontaneous, fun-loving young man, with many friends. He was also a sports fanatic, and played baseball and wrestled for the Mustangs, too.

By the time he was a teenager, though, Steve realized his path in life wasn’t paved with books and schoolwork, and saw a career as a means to an end — what he used to pay for his true passions. So he dropped out of school to work at his dad’s shop full time, and took his college money he had saved up and bought a rental house for college kids, rather than buying college tuition.

When he wasn’t working alongside his dad, Steve was out on the water, in one of the many different boats he owned in his lifetime. The water was truly Steve’s second home (and first love), and he never missed a chance to head out to the Big Lake at South Haven, or heading up to Houghton Lake at the same time every year. He owned 33 different boats in his lifetime, with the fantastic Fountain Offshore cigarette boat he named "Up R Down", his most recent baby.

The only thing he loved more than floating in his boat was racing them. He raced all kinds of boats, from drag boats to hydroplanes, and raced power boats in the American Power Boat Association from 1993 to 1996, too. Steve loved to pilot the boats as fast as he could take them, a thrill he was so passionate about.

Of course, being the fun-loving man he was, Steve was more than your ordinary captain. Everyone who knew Steve called him “Captain Cocktail,” for his ever-present martinis. He was a very sophisticated man, who enjoyed the finer things in life, from a prime rib dinner, to good, smooth jazz, to a fine martini and a good cigar. Steve always knew the best restaurants, and how to enjoy himself, too. And while he was indeed a sophisticate, he was never pretentious, and blended seamlessly with any crowd.

Steve always surrounded himself with positive, good-hearted people, who seemed to gravitate to the gregarious, spontaneous man. On Halloween of 2002, a beautiful woman named Melody Dickman felt the pull of Steve’s magnetism, too, when they met at a party. “We can have some fun together,” Steve told her, matter-of-factly. When she took her car to his shop for repairs shortly afterward, their romance began.

Steve’s friends knew he was in love when he brought Melody with him to the Tip-Up Town Festival in Houghton Lake the following January, an annual tradition Steve and his buddies enjoyed for years. He and Melody continued their romance for the next few years, enjoying each other’s company, and “having some fun together,” just as Steve promised.

Steve was a superstitious fellow, who always swore by his lucky number, 10. So when he and Melody finally decided to get married, picking the date was easy: October 10, 2006. So on 10-10-06, at 6 p.m., the happy couple was married at sunset in Hawaii, the sky turning the brilliant shade of purple Steve loved so much.

Yet Steve’s life wasn’t without its challenges. In 2001, Steve’s father died, and he took over the shop he’d run his whole life with his dad by his side. Shortly afterward, Steve was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The positive, fun-loving man refused to give up the fight, and bravely battled the disease. Eventually the cancer spread to his bones, and Steve sadly died on August 31, 2007, at 10:10 p.m.

Steve was a wonderful man, who lived a wonderful life, a life full of family, friends, and so many fond memories. He was such a funny, fun-loving man, who was most at home out on the water, entertaining his many friends and family. Those were the moments Steve lived for, and the memories that live on today, in the hearts of all who knew him. “Captain Cocktail” will forever be missed.

Steve is survived by his wife, the former Melody Dickman; his mother; Elaine (Myles) Jordan; his brother; Brad Curtis of Kalamazoo; sister, Nancy Remynse and her husband Dr. Ashraf Maher of Portage; Melody’s son, Ryan Schrepel; niece, Stephanie; 2 nephews, Brad and Michael; aunts, uncles and cousins.

No services are scheduled. An open house to share stories, memories, food and cocktails will be held Saturday, September 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the States Golf Course in Vicksburg.

Please visit Steve’s Memory Page at www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory or photo of Steve, or to sign his online guestbook.