Donald Paul ‘Don’ Curtin

November 26, 1931 - January 19, 2023

CHULA VISTA — Donald Paul Curtin, 91, passed away January 19 surrounded by four generations of family. He died after a prolonged struggle with dementia, but will be remembered as a vivid, indelible character: funny, funloving, generous, kind, and principled.

Don was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he majored in Sociology and met future wife Mimi Veblen.

Following graduation, Don and Mimi headed for California and eventually put down roots in La Mesa, where they lived for 55 years. They frequently traveled back to the Midwest to visit farmland that Mimi’s family owned in Hallock, MN.

Don’s career was as a stockbroker, but his real loves were family, friends, travel, and helping others. He volunteered for many years as a reader to kindergartners and first-graders, and as a driver for those needing medical transportation. He and Mimi led Sierra Club trips for families having their first backcountry experience. He was always up for helping his own kids deliver newspapers at 5 am on Sunday mornings, and invited those same kids and their partners to join family vacations long into their adulthood.

Don is survived by Mimi; children Paul, Anne, and John; grandchildren Royanne, Ariana, Louise, Jack, and Isabel; and great-grandchildren Zoe and Thoren.

A memorial event will be held in April. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be sent to the Sierra Club or to the United Church of Christ of La Mesa.

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