Warren Curlis

WARREN H. CURLIS 1920 ~ 2008 Warren was born in Ridgewood, Long Island, New York on March 29, 1920, the son of Irwin W. and Bertha Louise Curlis. He attended and graduated from local schools and Drakes College of Business. Afterwards, the family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, a place Warren loved.. He entered the Army at the time of Pearl Harbor, serving 4 years, 2 overseas in New Guinea, Moriati, Leyete and Luzon in the Philippines. Shortly after his entry, he was sent to radar (which was relatively new then) maintenance school for 6 months of study. It was on his way overseas that he met his lovely wife LaVon Bonnie Warr of Granger, Utah. On September 10, 1946 they were married, settled and raised their children in St. Petersburg, Florida. Warren started in the Title business, March 1, 1946, eventually becoming Vice-President and Branch Manager of the title company he worked for in St. Petersburg. He found the title business very interesting and enjoyed the work. In order to further his knowledge, he took correspondence law courses from the University of Minnesota. Until his retirement he was always seeking and reading papers on Real Estate Law. Bonnie greatly missed her family, Utah and the mountains, so in 1962, they moved to Granger, Utah. Warren continued business and later started his own company, Guardian Title Co. of Utah. About 23 years ago he turned the business and presidency over to his son, Douglas, who was with him from the beginning, as were his wife and daughter. Doug continues to successfully run the company and opened an office in St. George. Warren was always very active, participating in events and visits to Realtors, Builders, Developers and Mortgage Companies; was a past board member of the Home Builders of Greater Salt Lake, past President and Executive Secretary of the Utah Land Title Association, honorary member of the Association of Professional Mortgage Women and past member of the Salt Lake County Zoning Board; former member of Bloomington Country Club, Fort Douglas Club, Ambassador Club and Salt Lake Athletic Club. He touched the career of many young men who worked for him, who later went out and successfully started their own title businesses. Bonnie and Warren loved to travel and visit historic locations. Their favorite flying destinations were St. Petersburg, FL., Cooperstown, NY, and San Francisco, CA. He loved all sports with baseball being number one. Warren is survived by his wife, LaVon; son, Douglas (Cindy); and daughter Sue Halvorsen; 6 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; son-in-law, Kent Halvorsen; and brother, Irwin Jr. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, 12 noon, at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road, where a viewing will be held Tuesday, 6 - 8 p.m., and again Wednesday, 11 - 11:45 a.m. Interment, Valley View Memorial Park.