Frank Davis Curtis

Frank Davis Curtis, 60, entered eternal rest on 24 October 2016 at home, surrounded by family and love.

Frank was born on July 18, 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama, to parents Nettie Grace (Fortner) Curtis and James Benjamin Curtis. He attended public schools in the Montgomery area and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School. Frank attended Samford University and Birmingham-Southern College where he studied voice with Andrew Gainey, his friend and mentor.

Frank began a singing career in New York City in the early 1980's. His musicality and bass voice caught the attention of Beverly Sills at New York City Opera, who hired him to first sing with the National Touring Company. He later sang principal roles at City Opera, including Magic Flute (Sarastro), Rigoletto (Sparafucile) and The Ballad of Baby Doe (William Jennings Bryan). It was during these years that he also performed with The Washington Opera at The Kennedy Center, The Canadian Opera, Opera Buffalo, Dallas Lyric Opera, and Minnesota Opera, among others. Frank also sang in several music festivals, including the Spoleto Festival (USA and Italy), The Brooklyn Next Wave Festival, The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, The New York Philharmonic Lincoln Center New Music Festival, and the San Antonio Festival.

Frank won numerous awards and stipends including the prestigious William Matheus Sullivan Award for the ongoing support of outstanding young artists, funded by The National Endowment for the Arts. It was the Scholarship and Stipend from Zurich International Opera Studio, Switzerland that led him to Europe where he performed in Aachen, Wuppertal, and Hamburg, Germany. It also led him on a path where he would find his greatest joy in the field of music, teaching. He served as cast voice instructor for Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera for four years.

Frank's love of teaching voice spanned many years. After returning to the United States, Frank served on the faculties of the University of Southern California, Pasadena City College, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He recently taught many students attending Olathe East and Blue Valley Northwest High Schools. He was a devoted, energetic advocate for all of his students. His former students have achieved fame in opera, Music Theater and concert work, as well as the world of academia. They have received awards ranging from the professional, (Broadway's Triple Crown-Tony, Drama Desk, and Critic's Outer Circle Award), to high school (Blue Star and Kansas City Superstar).

In 2007, he married his wife, Phyllis Hornbaker, at the home of Steve and Martha Murphy, Girard. Together, they formed The Fine Arts Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing performance opportunities for young singers and presenting quality programming for the community. It was through this organization that Frank founded a noon-time luncheon theatre series for senior citizens, Love in the Afternoon. Hundreds of seniors enjoyed the talent that he presented during this successful community outreach. These programs also showcased the Tune Time Singers, a choir directed by him and comprised of senior citizens from throughout the Kansas City area.

Frank and Phyllis also served as directors of Shawnee Heartland Assisted Living from 2004-2015. Residents were recipients of Frank's love of the senior population, his favorite jokes, his kind Southern way of making people feel at home, and, of course, his musical talent.

Family was of utmost importance to Frank, to whom he was devoted. His love of cooking and entertaining was well known. The home of Frank and Phyllis was filled with laughter, music, and love for any special occasion. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were looked forward to as Frank planned his menu. Although Frank was an Alabama football fan, he became an avid Kansas State fan, in deference to Phyllis.

Survivors include his wife, Phyllis, of the home; his daughter, Sarah, currently a vocal performance major at Simpson College; his step-daughter, Kyal, Shawnee, Kansas; and his step-son, Zeke, Girard, Kansas. Surviving siblings are: Jim (Bronda) Curtis, Dahlonega, Georgia; Tony (Debbie) Curtis, Ocala, Florida; Joe (Reba) Curtis, Montgomery, Alabama; and Linda (James) Blair, Auburn, Alabama. Additional survivors include his mother-in-law, Marjorie Murphy, Girard, Kansas. Numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive, as well as countless friends, colleagues, and students whose lives he touched.

A celebration of Frank's life will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 5400 West 75th Street, Prairie Village, Kansas. A graveside and committal service will be held on the same day at 4:00 p.m. at the Girard Cemetery in Girard, Kansas. Friends are invited to visit family members at the home on Friday evening, November 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Fine Arts Institute where a memorial scholarship will be established in Frank's honor to be awarded to outstanding vocalists at the high school level. Contributions may be left the day of the celebration or mailed to: The Fine Arts Institute, 21295 West 106th, Olathe, Kansas, 66061.