Obituary of Curtis C. Van Valkenburgh

LONG ISLAND, NY- Curtis Coolidge Van Valkenburgh passed away peacefully on September 12, 2021 at his daughter’s home in Guilderland, NY. He was born in NJ in 1924 and grew up on a large dairy farm in Bedford Hills NY. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with an Engineering degree and began working for Grumman Aerospace Corporation. In 1947 he married Trudy (Gertrude Smith) and after living in Levittown for several years, built a home in Setauket where he had lived for over 60 years. He and Trudy raised 3 children, Liana, Carol & Jim. When he retired after 40 years at Grumman, Curtis and Trudy traveled to many places with ElderHostel and to annual NAVVF VanValkenburgh Family reunions across the country. Curtis volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together and delivered Meals on Wheels until he was over 90 years old! He also enjoyed "tinkering" in his basement workshop, fixing anything and everything that needed repairing. Curtis also loved music and enjoyed live performances of both jazz and classical venues. Curtis was predeceased by his daughter Liana, and his wife Trudy, and is survived by his daughter Carol, his son Jim and wife Joann, grandchildren Carl, Kevin, Nicholas, and Brianna, and 4 great-grandchildren. He was a loving and devoted husband and father and has been an inspiration to all of his children and grandchildren! He will be missed but never forgotten. A Memorial Service will be held on October 9th at 10:45 at the St. James RC Church, 429 Rte. 25A, Setauket, LI, NY In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Community Hospice Foundation, 310 South Manning Blvd. Albany, NY 12208 To make the donation in loving memory of Curtis C VanValkenburgh, please visit the website at www.givetocommunityhospice.org and follow instructions, or call 518-482-4433.