Curtis Lee Strickland

Curt Strickland passed away at home Saturday night after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was born the youngest of nine children in Mooseheart, IL to Agnes and Clair Strickland. He spent the first ten years of his life at Mooseheart Orphanage, as his father passed away before his birth. His family lived in Aurora Illinois and he graduated from Aurora High School in 1973, after which he was one of the "few good men" who served in the Marines until 1977. He married his wife Robin (Lamb) of Twin Falls, ID, after which they spent a year with the Marines in N. Carolina, where they welcomed their first son Justin. They relocated to the Northwest after the Marines, where their second son Jonathan, daughter Kerry, and third son Jordan were born. They lived 9 years on Bainbridge Isle in the Puget Sound before moving to Vancouver, WA in 1996, where he resided until his death. After the Marines, he earned his Computer Programming certification and worked as a programmer for more than 30 years at several Northwest companies, most recently ODS Companies of Portland, OR. He loved to run and competed in several events, including the Portland Marathon, Seattle Marathon and Hood-to-Coast multiple times. He was an active father, coaching several sports teams (he loved catching runaway balls during his kids' soccer games!) and serving in AWANAS (especially running the games!). He was also an eloquent writer, and has left quite a wealth of poetry, devotionals and essays that reflect the man he was. He loved spending time outside working in his shop or yard, and even when he was sick he recruited his boys to keep his many projects going! Curt served the Lord faithfully and was an elder at Faith Baptist Church in Hazel Dell. He and Robin also led worship at their church in Bainbridge together. He was a bold man of God and avid teacher of the Bible, and that fervor has impacted the lives of his children, grandchildren and all who knew him. Throughout his illness he had been very confident in his faith and made sure those who loved him knew his future lied with the Lord. Curt is survived by his wife of 34 years, Robin; son Justin (33), daughter-in-law Crystal, and grandson Kyden; son Jonathan (28), daughter-in-law Elise, granddaughter Solveig and grandson Lincoln; daughter Kerry (25); and son Jordan (21); as well as his mother Agnes; and siblings, Clair (LeRoy), Marilyn, Charles, Gwendolyn, Carla, Kitina, and Rita. He was preceded in death by his father Clair; and sister Mary.

Curtis Lee Strickland

March 30, 1955 - January 22, 2011