SOUTH WASHINGTON, VT — South Washington musician, logger, database guru, carpenter, and father, James “Jim” Curtin passed away December 29, 2020 at the age of 60 due to post-transplant complications. Jim grew up alongside his five sisters in the Long Island suburb of Stony Brook, NY, but his adventurous spirit drove him to the wild west. He attended Utah State University where he skipped many lectures to ski in the backcountry powder. After years as a vagabond geological surveyor, Jim moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a talented flute player in the Irish music scene. There, he met his wife, Jennifer Curtin, and they moved to the Vermont countryside to start a homestead and a family. Despite working as a database administrator at DHMC, Jim was an outdoor renaissance man. He raised livestock, built a sawmill, produced thousands of gallons of maple syrup, and in the last summer of his life, constructed a log cabin. But of all his passions, being a parent was what he enjoyed the most. Jim was an adoring father to two children, Finbar and Maeve, and he spent many sunny days with them skiing, swimming, and eating ice cream. Jim will be remembered for his overwhelming friendliness, goofy humor, and love for all people.
Next summer—epidemic permitting—there will be a multi-day, blowout music festival celebrating Jim’s life at the Curtin homestead: “Jim-a-palooza.”