Curtis W. McPherson

Curtis Wayne “Curt” McPherson, 74, died September 17, 2026. A Hamilton native, husband, father, grandfather, Air Force veteran and longtime advocate for fellow veterans, Curt’s life connected the neighborhood where he grew up with a much wider community of people he served.

Early life and marriage

Born December 19, 1951, to Oscar B. and Fanny Mary (Thornbury) McPherson, Curt grew up on North 2nd Street in Hamilton as the youngest of five children. His father worked at Champion Papers for 30 years. His older siblings were his brother George and sisters Mary Ann, Nancy and Wanda. While attending Garfield High School, he worked at the Hamilton YMCA. He graduated in 1970. On January 27, 1973, he married his high-school crush and fellow Garfield graduate, Anita Marie Bauer, at St. Stephen Church. They shared more than 53 years of marriage, building a family that included their sons, Robert and John, and the generations that followed.

Military service

Curt served in the United States Air Force from October 28, 1971, to July 1, 1974. A personnel specialist, he served stateside during the Vietnam era, including at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas, and was honorably discharged as an Airman First Class.

Education and working life 

He earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Southern Ohio College. His civilian career included sales and management in the bearings and power-transmission industry, with work at Motion Industries, formerly Buckeye Bearing & Transmission Company, and Bearing Distributors Inc. His connections to Hamilton also included work with Proeschel-Crawford and Zettler Funeral Home, beginning when he was a young man and continuing with pickups and removals for Zettler into the 1990s.

American Legion and veterans service

The American Legion became a major part of Curt’s life. His home was Durwin-Schantz Post 138 in Hamilton, and his leadership included service as post commander, Fourth District commander and Department of Ohio treasurer. In March 1985, the national American Legion magazine featured his effort to reconnect with former members: he worked through old records, identified 700 names and wrote to each of them. Within a week, 22 had rejoined. It was a concrete example of the personal effort he put into the organization.

Curt later served on the Butler County Veterans Service Commission and became its director in September 2004. His work included helping veterans with VA paperwork, emergency financial assistance and transportation to medical appointments. As he began the job, he told the Journal-News, “We just want to make sure we are servicing the Butler County veterans to the best of our ability.” He retired in March 2014, after years of helping other veterans find their way through the systems intended to serve them.

That public service was an important part of his life, but it was not the whole of it. His story also belongs to Hamilton, the girl he had a crush on in high school, and the family they built together.

Family

Curt is survived by his wife, Anita Marie McPherson; his son Robert Adrian McPherson and Robert’s wife, Amy Mueller McPherson; and his son John Curtis McPherson and John’s wife, Alice Pollitt McPherson. His grandchildren include Robert and Amy’s children, Emma Jane McPherson and Isabel “Izzy” Grace McPherson, and John and Alice’s daughter, Marlowe Jean McPherson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar B. and Fanny Mary McPherson, and his older brother, George McPherson.