** WECATON SPCIAL REPORT **

---This message is very tough for me to write. Here I sit, on the 4th of July. Just an hour ago, I received a call from the daughter of CURTIS A. KEMP. No, he's not dead. But neither is he expected to live through the day. He wasn't expected to make it through the night, as a matter of fact. Currently, he's at Parrish Memorial Hospital in Titusville. There is absolutely no hope for recovery. How I do hate hearing this!

Curt and I were great pals in school. I'm going to talk about him for just a few lines, to vent my sadness and the utter frustration of knowing that we on the verge of losing yet another of us. Curt was such a unique and fun guy, and he also led quite an interesting life, for those of you who may not know.

He was a prison guard for many years, and in the culture in which we grew to maturity, there may have been those who thought Curt might wind up IN such a place, rather than guarding it. But truth to tell, most of his antics were simply 1950s, typical mischief and orneriness. He was daring and adventurous and had that devil-may-care attitude. He was terribly handsome and full of practical jokes, so he had great charm, in many ways.

Curt spent his youth with best pals, EDDIE KELLY, AARON COUCH, RICH CALL, DICKIE PHILLIPS, BILL ROHLER, TOM FEE, and he speaks fondly of them all, to this day. Eddie spent two weeks with Curt from April 29-May 13, just this year. When he returned to his Idaho home, he told me wouldn't take a million dollars for the time he spent with Curt. He also said they had tough time saying good-bye, as they both knew it would be their final visit.

Curt lived for many years in Florida and was a highly-trained marksman and a respected authority on the topic. For many years, he trained many law enforcement officers in Florida, on proper use of firearms, as a subcontract employee for Florida's training programs for officers. He also served honorably in the U.S. military service.

Curt and his wife, Maria, had their 38th wedding anniversary on May 21. Maria had 5 children when she and Curt married and they had one daughter together, Marcella. Curt turned 66 on May 20. I spoke with him the day before he returned to the hospital. He told me he was coming to Ohio in the Fall, to see Eddie, Aaron, Rich, and all his other old pals.

During the years of the WC Florida Holiday Brunch, always held at the Dixie Crossroads, Curt never did miss a one and he was the life of the party when we all waited to hear him tell the story, just once more, of his smashed thumb. Painful as it had to be, Curt made it hilarious, as only he could do. Always, by the time he got to the end of that story, everyone was in tears of laughter. You never tired of hearing it. Oh, how I will miss hearing that story!

-- Bonnie
- posted by Mikey @ 4:32 PM