Curtis Billings

Curtis Billings peacefully passed away on Friday, January 21, 2005 at his home in Warwick, Maryland after experiencing a stroke the previous week. He spent the last days of his life in the company of his four children, Dusty Billings-Lilien of Warwick, Maryland, Susan Billings of Norwood, Colorado, Jonathan Billings of Providence, Rhode Island, and Benjamin Billings of Telluride, Colorado. Curtis enjoyed a full and satisfying life. He attended Yale University before enlisting in the Army Corps of Engineers where he served the U.S. Military in the Philippines as a lieutenant before returning to graduate as an engineer from Yale in 1945. Curtis worked as a chemical engineer representing the Cabot Corporation in the Far East, residing in Singapore and England for many years with his wife, Patricia and three children. Following his return to the United States, Curtis relocated to Concord, Massachusetts where he remained for many years. In 1962, he started his own market research company, Billings Research located in Concord, Massachusetts. He later remarried to Bonnie Jameson in 1976, residing in Concord with their two children, Eliza Jameson and Ben Billings. During his retirement, Curtis moved to St. Augustine, Florida in 1994 before moving finally with his daughter and her husband in 2001. He spent his last years in Warwick, Maryland where his rooms overlooked the Sassafras River on the Chesapeake. An avid sailor, Curtis spent many years cruising the Atlantic Coast on his favorite sailboats the TRUIMVERATE and the ELISE G. Often found along the Maine Coast, he was a respected and knowledgeable sailor, navigator and shipmate. Curtis was a charming and charismatic man who spent many years as an amateur actor fondly remembered for his role in the Concord Players production of the “King and I”, and an annual fixture as a minuteman flag bearer in the Concord Patriots Day Parade. Curtis enjoyed skiing in New England, his daily New York Times crossword puzzles, and his pipe. Curtis was preceded in death by his parents, Edmund Billings and Elise Garceau Billings of Boston, Massachusetts, his brother, Edmund Billings of Barrington, Rhode Island, and his grandson, Max Lilien. Curtis is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Billings Roitman; his brother, Robert Billings; his four children; his previous wives, Patricia Barry Billings and Bonnie Billings Wauters; stepdaughter, Eliza Jameson McMurray, and his four grandchildren, Walker Ferguson, Megan Billings, Hilary Billings, and Coral Ferguson. Curtis will be greatly missed by his family and friends and the many people whose lives he touched. In lieu of flowers, contributions bay be made to the Democratic National Committee, 403 South Capital Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. Services will be held privately by the family.