Long time Bainbridge resident Lois Curtis died of heart failure on February 11. An Island resident for 59 years, Lois was a quintessential community servant and quiet philanthropist. As a new Island resident in 1963, she was part of the group who founded Bainbridge Island Cooperative Nursery School; she later donated the land on which the present school now stands. A lifetime member of the League of Women Voters, she loved a hearty discussion of the latest issues.

Lois served on the Bainbridge Island School Board, the Planning Commission, and the Bainbridge Island City Council after the island incorporated. In 2009-2010, as part of her commitment to keeping Bainbridge economically diverse, she donated land to the Housing Resource Board which was then developed into workforce housing at Ferncliff Village. Throughout her life she believed deeply that process, compromise, and inclusion forms the basis of a vibrant community.

In addition to her 30 years of public service in local government, Lois is remembered as a great friend, tennis partner, and a fierce scrabble player. She loved gardening (especially her dahlia beds), birding, knitting and weaving. Lois loved to travel and be in the outdoors. After 30 years of sailing every summer in British Columbia and SE Alaska with her husband King and family, they spent two years sailing to New Zealand. After that voyage, she thought a month was plenty of time on board.

Lois is survived by her four children, their spouses and six grandchildren. Her husband F. Kingsbury Curtis predeceased her in 2016. A family memorial will be held at the Manor House on Bainbridge Sunday, April 3, at 1:00. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her memory to the Bainbridge Senior Center.