LACONIA ---- Robert E. "Bob" Curtis, 78, of Birchwood Way, passed away on Monday, July 7, 2025.
Bob was born on February 6, 1947, in Boston, MA, the son of Leroy Curtis and Margaret (Blow) Stanovich.
Bob had many life-long interests - swimming at the YMCA every day at lunch, playing tennis with his iconic wooden rackets, curating vegetable gardens, and making sure his lawn was the greenest in town...not one blade was to be touched. He could wallpaper an entire house before noon. Maybe his greatest skill was wrapping presents and school books with paper - every nook covered, every corner perfectly folded. Bob was a master Monopoly player - adept at crushing your hopes and dreams with a marathon of mortgaged properties and taxes. No container of vanilla ice cream was safe if left unguarded in his presence.
Bob was a caring dad to his 3 boys, a proud grandfather to his 8 grandkids, and a devoted son. But Bob's true love was working for Laconia Savings Bank (later Bank of New Hampshire). He put his heart and soul into everything related to the Bank and helping the community with loans to build their businesses or assisting families buying their first home. He became a part of the fabric of the town itself - almost everyone knew him. "I know your dad - he gave me my first loan". "Oh yes, I know Bob quite well - I worked with him for 20 years!" He would even conduct tours of the Bank for classmates of his sons from Pleasant Street School, taking them through the vault and the secret underground tunnel. Officially - he worked for the Bank for just over 40 years - but he'd still be working there today if he didn't have health issues later in life.
Bob grew up in Somerville, MA on Winter Hill. His father was a truck driver and his mother worked for Polaroid. Because his father passed away when he was 18, just weeks before his high school graduation, insurance money enabled him to attend Plymouth State College in New Hampshire and begin his journey in small-town banking. He rose through the ranks at Laconia Savings Bank over the years, having managerial oversight of almost every aspect of the Bank at one point or another, and eventually became an Executive Vice President. Bob served as the Treasurer of the Lakes Region Red Cross and is a past President of the Lakes Region Family YMCA, amongst many other local committees, Trusts, and Boards. Banking was a part of his persona - and he was very prideful of that. He wanted his legacy to be that everyone around him was better off than they were previously - and all of his friends and family would agree that he accomplished his goal.
He is survived by his sons, Rob (and wife Kathleen), Tim (and wife Jacquelyn), and Ryan (and wife Amanda), two loving ex-wives (and best friends) Nance Webster and Janis Curtis, brother Richard "Dick" Curtis (and his wife Dottie), sister Carol Ward (and husband Paul), along with 8 grandchildren, RJ, Sophie, Lucy, Andrew, Michael, Ronan, Drew and Will. He was predeceased by his parents.
There will be no calling hours.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 10:00am, at the Gilford Community Church, 19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, NH 03249, with a luncheon to follow downstairs.
And as he often reminded us all, he'll see us, once more, in the funny papers.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit wilkinsonbeane.com.