Curtis Donald Reeves was born in Pike County, Mississippi on August 22, 1928 to T.C. Reeves and Bennie Boyd Reeves. He was the oldest of four children. His father died unexpectedly when Curtis was seven. Due to uncertain times and circumstances the children were forced to be taken in by the Methodist Home in Jackson, Mississippi. He lived at the home until he was around 15. He used to talk about some of the chores he had to do while living there. They had to keep their rooms clean, bring in wood for the stove and feed the animals. When he got older, he took over running the milking operation when the foreman wasn’t there. He said the foreman called him “Jackpot” because he had hit the jackpot when Curtis came to work for him. One of his favorite things he liked to do in the home was playing tobacco sock ball, which is like baseball but they used a stuffed sock for the ball and their hand for the bat. This is probably what led to his love of baseball.
When he turned 17, he and his siblings moved to Orange with their mom. He attended and graduated from Orange High School. While there he played both baseball and basketball.
When he graduated from high school he enlisted in the Air Force in June of 1946. He served as a radio operator mechanic for 10 months in the US and 26 months overseas. He loved to talk of the places he got to see while in the service. When he got out of the service he attended Texas A&M University.
While he was home during the summer after his sophomore year, his mother introduced him to the love of his life, Edna Mae Landry. It wasn’t long before he gave her his school ring. Before he went back to start his junior year, he asked for his ring back. He said Edna looked pretty disappointed until he took an engagement ring out of his pocket and placed it on her finger. They were married June 7, 1952. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1953 with a bachelor of science degree.
Shortly afterward they moved to Pt. Arthur and he began working for Texaco Refinery.
In April 1954 they welcomed their first child, Darrell. Two years later, Randy was born followed by Tammy a year later. They would welcome two more children into the family, Michael in 1960 and Rhonda in 1963. He was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church. He retired from Texaco as a supervisor in the Packaging and Shipping Department after 31 years.
Curtis was happiest when he was out on the lake with a rod and reel in his hands. He taught all of his children how to fish. They knew if they were going fishing with their Dad they would be on the lake by dawn and wouldn’t come in until dusk. They have many wonderful memories of time spent at the lake house He loved watching the Aggies play and they would gather as a family every Thanksgiving to watch the Aggie football game. His favorite sport was baseball and he couched all of his sons in Little League for many years. His favorite baseball team was the Houston Astros. He always planted a huge garden and loved working in it. Of course he had 5 children and a wife to help. He was an active member of the McDonald’s morning coffee club. He liked to tell jokes, even though his family encouraged him not to.
Curtis lived by the values he instilled in his children. He believed in working hard, honesty, family, being a positive thinking person and looking for the good in people. He was a firm believer in discipline and that there were consequences for your actions. (You can ask his children about that one.) He believed in being loyal to God, country, and family. He loved his family and he especially loved his wife of 64 years. His favorite saying was “Where there is a dark cloud, there will always be a silver lining.”
He will always be remembered for never saying good-bye. He always said “I love you big, big, big.”
