See you again someday good friend.
I valued your friendship.

I had the honor of working side by side with Cliff at Boeing during the 90's. He was a teacher, mentor, friend and his passion for excellence in his work could not be surpassed. For many years after moving on to other positions I continued to contact Cliff for his valued perspective and wealth of knowledge on so many subjects. I shared many lunch "get togethers" with Cliff and Mike Cockle that I think of from time to time. My sincerest sympathy goes out to the family in this time of sorrow.

I am too, one of the fortunate ones to have known and worked with Cliff Curtis through the Boeing Company. Cliff and I were on a CQI team out of Renton together back in the day and carpooled together to Everett and back, well over 6 months working with that team. Both being veterans I had the utmost respect for Cliff and his service to our country and between that and Boeing we had plently to talk about on our trips back and forth. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met with his expertise law and how he applied that to his work at Boeing in the Configuration Management group where we had worked together since 1997. His wife Peggy, I know from my days working in the standards group, prior to him marrying her. It was my pleasure to know him and work with him all of these years. RIP my friend!

Cliff was one of the good guys and is already missed. We met in 1997, and I learned much from him, about work and about how people get along in life. He was always willing to teach if one was willing to listen, taking time away from his current task to do the teaching.

When I received a layoff notice, Cliff was the only person who had anything remotely useful to say, and it was "I'll write you a letter of reference." And he did. And it was wonderful, all true, and expressed in the most positive terms. That letter helped to lift my attitude. On rough days, I would read it and feel better.

I am grateful for the time with him and so very sorry this has happened to Cliff's family.

Dear Peggy,

Steve and I are so sorry of Cliff's passing, and we wanted you to know how much we enjoyed reading the many wonderful memories from Cliff's friends and Boeing partners.

Please take care and know we are thinking of you and the family. Many prayers and blessings are sent to you at this time.

With much sympathy and love,
Molly and Steve

I had the privilege of being Cliff’s supervisor for about 15 years. During that time I relied heavily on Cliff as my guide when dealing with government regulations. Cliff was one of the few people who could debate Boeing lawyers on the finer points of regulatory law and usually win. In fact, I can only remember over-ruling Cliff a couple of times…not because he was wrong, but because of business politics. Cliff was a model of personal and professional integrity and I greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss life as well as business with him. He always had an interesting article or book to share, and I can truly say I miss those discussions. Others have commented on the “Cliff’s Notes” of which I have an extensive collection. Cliff’s handwriting (printing, actually) was so neat and precise that it was readable by optical character recognition software. If the internet is forever, then Cliff’s legacy will live on a very long time. To quote Cliff’s own catch phrase, “To be continued…”.

Cliff was one of the first people I met when I joined Boeing in July, 1997. His knowledge was encyclopedic, not only of the Federal Aviation Administration Regulations and current Boeing processes but of events which took place many years prior that had shaped those processes. He could always be depended upon to share his knowledge so that mistakes of the past were not repeated. And he was never shy about expressing his opinion on what was the right and ethical thing to do in any situation. A couple of years into my tenure he and I were having a conversation and I asked him why he didn’t retire and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “What would I do?” Although his interests were wide and varied, he could not imagine leaving what he loved. While he did finally retire as age began to slow him a bit, he was a fortunate man to be able to do what he loved into his 80s. He was a mentor to me as he was to many others. I’m saddened by his passage.

Cliff was a significant contributor to the Boeing company. He guided and mentored many of us and put into words and documents instructions that guide us today.
Yet Cliff was a character. Cliff eschewed technology. He wasn't impressed with email, instant messaging, or such. Cliff wanted to meet face to face, or to exchange hand written notes (we later referred to as: Cliff Notes).
I am sure that I and others he connected with are better people for what he gave us through his time, mentoring, and friendship.
Rest in peace Cliff.

Not only was Cliff one of the nicest men I've known over the years he had a little twinkle that would come out and get you. He helped everyone that needed it and as he got to know you he would tease every now and again, it's that Cliff I will remember the most, and miss greatly. My prayer is for light to come back into the lives of all of you, remember the twinkle if you can.

Cliff was a special guy! Besides always being warm and thoughtful, he was generous with his knowledge and time. To me he was my hero and tell stories about the history of Configuration Management in the Boeing Company. Cliff was Brilliant as a coach and mentor! I will always remember that he had a smile and a twinkle in his eyes with the stories he shared. I will miss him dearly.