Obituary of Thomas Curlee

Thomas O. Curlee, III, a resident of Poughkeepsie and LaGrange since 1969, passed away on Tuesday, December 5th, 2023. He was 81.

Born on May 8th, 1942, at U.S. Army Fort Polk near DeRidder, Louisiana, and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, he was the son of the late Thomas O. Curlee, Jr. and Elizabeth Williams Curlee.

Mr. Curlee is survived by his beloved daughters Katie Cresswell (Eliot) of Saratoga Springs, NY, and Caroline Greenfield (Jacob) of Pleasant Valley, NY, two beautiful granddaughters Celia and Mabel Greenfield, and a loving sister, Mary Arnett, of Spartanburg, SC. Mr. Curlee was predeceased by his younger brother, Paul Curlee of Greenville, SC.

Mr. Curlee attended Clemson University where he received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering in 1964 and 1969, respectively. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies and the Clemson Alumni Association. Mr. Curlee's automobile has license plates bearing the word CLEMSON.

Employed by IBM in Poughkeepsie from 1969 until his retirement in 1997, Mr. Curlee held several technical and management positions and received a number of patents and awards, including an Outstanding Technical Achievement award in 1983, an Invention Achievement award in 1984, and an IBM Corporate award in 1986. He was previously employed by Westinghouse in Cheektowaga, NY.

A lover of theater organ concerts and music, Mr. Curlee was a 35-year member of the New York Theater Organ Society.

Mr. Curlee was a 48-year member of Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church and served on its board of trustees for 15 years, 3 years as chairman.

A funeral service will be held at Poughkeepsie United Methodist Church, 2381 New Hackensack Road, Poughkeepsie, on Friday, December 15th, at 10:00 AM.

Funeral arrangements are being provided by Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home, 371 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie.

Visiting hours will be from 4-6 PM at the funeral home on Thursday, December 14th, 2023.