Ed Curtis, known for his enthusiasm for the New England Patriots, a wealth of jokes and humorous stories, and his ever willingness to help other shop owners in the Cabinet Makers Association, died unexpectedly after stepping off a pickleball court on Monday, November 18, 2024.

Edward Christopher Curtis was 64 and a resident of Port St. Lucie, Florida, when he died, but he was more known for his Boston-area roots and his longtime association with the cabinet industry.

One of nine children, Ed grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts, and graduated from Lynn Tech High School in 1978 where he met and later married his high school sweetheart, Bessie Turner. They went on to have two children, Meaghan and Brian, and four grandsons. According to his published obituary, “Ed loved his family and was very proud of each of them. He treasured the love of his life, Bessie, and enjoyed spending time with his grandsons, watching ‘The Three Stooges’ and joking with them about gorillas!”
After successfully renovating their first home, he discovered his passion and talent for general contracting which later fueled his love of woodworking and cabinetry. In 1989, Ed built their new family home and soon after established Curtis Cabinetry in Middleton, Massachusetts. 

Like many small shop owners, Ed had an uphill go at first. When I first met him, he was struggling in his small shop north of Boston, working mostly by himself to build cabinets and other woodworking projects. But the reality was that what Ed was doing wasn’t really a viable business. Thank goodness his wife had a good job and insurance or they couldn’t have made ends meet.

Then Ed discovered the newly formed Cabinet Makers Association. He attended the first pricing seminar I ever put on with the CMA at a small regional trade show in Hartford, Connecticut. In the pricing panel, Ed met a couple of opinionated cabinet shop owners from New York, Jim McDermott and Eric Lehman. Jim and I helped found the Cabinet Makers Association, and Eric was a charter member. We somehow connected with Ed to convince him he could save his business by learning how other similar shops succeed and applying those lessons himself. He never looked back.

 

By 2019, he had expanded the company to Georgetown, Massachusetts, with a beautiful shop in a building he owned that included a spectacular showroom taking up about a third of the real estate. The company had then about 15 employees, including Ed’s wife who was able to leave her outside job and become the leader in the front office of the cabinet business. Ed’s son was on board as the company’s chief engineer.

Ed paid the industry back, offering advice on a regular basis. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cabinet Makers Association from 2005 to 2008. He was a regular feature of the CMA message boards, dispensing advice, good humor, great stories, and admonishing everyone to root for the Patriots. Over the years, he hosted multiple events at his shop.

After a long, fruitful career, he sold the company and retired to Florida in the spring of 2023. During retirement, Ed made many new friends and found several new hobbies including pickleball and bowling. He continued to enjoy old hobbies like traveling, camping and singing his favorite songs at karaoke (even if it wasn’t his turn.)

His published obituary reports correctly that Ed was known by all for his “larger than life” personality, “No one could tell a story like Ed and he was known to have more than one joke on hand. Ed was always the one bringing people together. Whether it was forming the “Real Men” of Middleton or bringing local cabinet makers together for network meetings, Ed thrived in making connections with others. He was very close to his siblings and they all adored him for his humor, intellect, and loving nature. For over 30 years, Ed and Bess hosted the infamous Curtis Family Christmas parties filled with laughter, lively swaps and eccentric themes.”

There was never a dull moment with Ed. Over the years, he and his family enjoyed many adventures traveling around the country and overseas. Ed was a planner and never met a spreadsheet he didn’t like! His thorough research led to his recently planned cross country trip with Bess and their greyhound, Amy, bringing them to unique locations including farms, ranches, wineries and state parks.

Known for his big heart and generous nature, Ed always thought of others. He readily gave his time and energy to anyone who needed help. Ed loved animals and animals loved him. Whether rescuing greyhounds, saving turtles in the road, or meeting farm and exotic animals, Ed was a natural animal whisperer.

In cabinet-making circles, Ed was known for his Boston accent. One of my favorite stories about Ed involved a communication problem between him and Bob Buckley, another founder of the CMA. You have to understand that Ed is a fun-loving, died-in-the-wool Massachusetts boy, complete with a heavy Boston accent (“I pawked the caw at Hahvawd Yawd”), and don’t get him started talking about his beloved New England Patriots! Buckley, on the other hand is a son of the South who calls Tennessee home and has a Southern drawl to boot. Ed was all excited, telling Bob about a new piece of equipment that was really making a difference in his shop. For the life of him, Bob couldn’t understand what Ed was talking about. “It’s a fawk twawk,” Ed kept saying, and Bob kept hearing a four-letter word that should have offended his Christian sensibilities. Finally, the Mason-Dixon line was crossed, and they understood that Ed was talking about his fork lift, or in the local jargon a fork truck.

From his published obituary: Ed is survived by his wife of 44 years, Bessie (Turner) Curtis; his two children Meaghan (Curtis) Guanci and spouse, Timothy Guanci of Derry, NH and Brian Curtis and spouse Cara (Harvey) Curtis of Danvers, MA; four grandchildren, Brayden, Blake, Séamus, and Bryson. Ed was also survived by siblings, Kathleen Curtis of Marblehead, MA, Margaret Lincourt and spouse Richard (Dick) Lincourt of Little Rock, AR; Mary Curtis of Los Angeles, CA; Daniel Curtis of Marblehead, MA; Patricia Cardenas of Swampscott, MA; Agnes Tuden of Medford, MA; and Christine Green of Essex, MA. Ed will be missed by his many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Frank and Agnes Curtis of Beverly, MA and sister, Ruth Perju of Lynn, MA.

In January, the family plans to hold a celebration of life for Ed in Massachusetts with details to be announced at a later time.