Curtis Allen Strum

Curtis A. “Curt” Strum, age 74 of New Brighton, Minn., passed away suddenly on September 22, 2022, at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center, Duluth, Minn. Visitation is Wednesday 9/28 4-8 PM, funeral service Thursday 9/29 11 AM with visitation 1 hour prior to service, reception following, all at Washburn-McReavy Hillside Chapel, 2610 19th Ave NE, Minneapolis, 612-781-1999. Disposition of ashes at a future date. Curt was born on July 28, 1948, in Moose Lake, Minnesota, the only child of Royal and Alice (Johnson) Strum. Curt grew up in Moose Lake and graduated from high school in 1966 and maintained lifelong friendships with several childhood classmates. He earned his Bachelor of Science magna cum laude degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 1970. Curt married Janice Wood on October 3, 1970, at St. Peter’s Lutheran in Canyon, Minnesota. He joined the Naval Reserve in Duluth a few months earlier and served his active duty with five fellow Duluth reservists, and many others from around the USA, teaching English to Vietnamese military personnel at the Armed Forces Language School (AFLS) in Saigon, VietNam, in 1971-72. Curt moved his family to St. Paul in 1974, where he was an employment counselor for the State of Minnesota Work Incentive (WIN) program, Job Service, Workforce Center, etc., retiring in 2010. Curt enjoyed visits with family and friends and often took the lead to help plan gatherings of his WIN and AFLS friends as well as cousin reunions. His writing abilities and love of history added several expanded family stories to Jan and Kristie’s genealogical endeavors. He did woodworking for years, making knick knacks and other items for family and friends and toys, especially for the grandchildren, plus various furniture items. After retiring, Curt and Jan began volunteering at the Moose Lake Area Historical Society’s Fires of 1918 Museum, where he shared stories from his youth and of his parents and grandparents. Curt is survived by his wife, Jan, their children, Kristie Strum, Shoreview, Minn., and Eric (Angela) Strum, Anchorage, Alaska, and their children, Donovan (Axel Otter) Cole, Allen (fiancé Kim Koonuk) Strum, and Zachary Strum, also of Anchorage; his cousins Dewey (Susan) Olson, Danny Olson, Cheryl (Bernard) Zuk, Betty (Jim) Langenbrunner, and Brian Strum, mother-in-law Eileen Wood and brothers- and sisters-in-law, Dennis (Caryn) Wood, Linda (Joe) Tasky, Carolyn (Ed) Wojtysiak, Dale (Virginia Garner) Wood, and H. Joe Tyler, nieces, nephews, plus many other family and friends. Curt was preceded in death by his parents, aunts and uncles, cousins/-in-law Revae (Allen) Johnson, Frank (Kay) Asplund, Rebecca Strum, Sharon Olson, his father-in-law William Wood, brother-in-law Donald Wood, sister-in-law Karen Wood Tyler, and nephew Brad Wojtysiak on Sept. 14, 2022.

Tributes

Curtis Allen Strum

July 28, 1948 - September 22, 2022

Tributes

Curtis Allen Strum

July 28, 1948 - September 22, 2022

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