"I have no idea if any of you will see this so many years later...I was doing a Google search for Harold Hahn Co. and Bob's notice came up. My father Damon Tucker owned a toy store in Marblehead in the 60's. He considered Bob one of his friends. We actually visited your family a couple of times...a house in Reading I think while they were building 495. I remember him as a kind man, wonderful salesman. My father died in 1969 and he came to the funeral which greatly pleased my mom. My condolences and good thoughts."
In loving memory of
Robert Curtin
Robert Francis Curtin passed away peacefully on December 27, 2013 at age 89. Bob was born on July 4, 1924 to George and Mary (Kane) Curtin. His mother died days after his birth and he was lovingly raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary G. Kane, in Dorchester, MA with summers at Martin's Pond in North Reading. He graduated from Mission High in Roxbury in 1941, worked briefly for John Dunn & Co. before enlisting in the Marine Corps in December 1942. He was proud of his service as a forward gunner on the 2d USS Yorktown (CV 10) under CPT Jocko Clark, from the time the carrier was christened by Mrs. Roosevelt and its nearly continuous combat in the Pacific from operations in the Marshall Islands until it entered Tokyo Bay in September 1945. After the war, he returned to Dunn & Co. and was asked to become a wholesale toy salesman, which he enjoyed. He met and married the beautiful Edna Wickwire from Arlington, MA in 1948 and they began to raise their family in Waltham, Reading, Wakefield and Longmeadow. He continued his sales career in the toy industry with Harold Hahn Company, Inc. and later became an executive at the Milton Bradley Company and then with Hasbro, after it bought MB. He worked tirelessly and was proud to have helped both corporations to develop and bring to life its retail service organization, both domestically and in Europe and made many wonderful friends. He retired from Hasbro in 1994 and moved to Phoenix in 2009. Although Edna passed away prematurely from a brain tumor in 1979, he is survived by his children, Barbara Hendricks of Wilmington, MA; MaryAnn Christopher and her husband, Harry of Tewksbury, MA; Beverly Portley and her husband, Maurice of Phoenix; Robert and his wife Susan of Needham, MA; and Michael and his wife, Lori of Newport Beach, CA; eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Bob was kind and generous and loved his family, his friends, his work and telling a good story. There will be a Mass of Celebration at 10:00 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Parish, 8620 N. 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85020 on Friday, January 10, 2014 and he will be buried next to Edna in Hillcrest Park Cemetery in Springfield, MA. He would want us to thank Hospice of the Valley and the wonderful staff and volunteers at the Gardiner House. We'll miss Bob and hearing him say, "have I told you this one . . ."
Tributes
"I knew Bob from my time at Hasbro. Bob was a wonderful boss, a father figure, and a dear friend. As a fellow Notre dame fame- I was glad to get Bob and his sons tickets to a Notre dame game- giving him a chance to meet my dad. Thanks for taking me under your wing at Hasbro"
"I met Bob Curtin while working for the toy company, Hasbro Inc. in National Accounts in the late 70\'s. Bob headed up retail service at that time, and I was a very young National Accounts Manager who thought I knew a lot more about the business than this Curtin guy. He gave me enough rope to almost hang myself, but was always there to make sure I didn\'t. He knew more about the workings of the Toy Business than anyone I had ever met. Lucky for me and my Irish background he took a liking to me, and we became very fast friends. Every New York Toy Fair I would hang out with Bob, not only trying to soak up as much knowledge as I could (as well as a beer or two), from this wise Irishman; I just thought the world of him. After all, he was from the same town as my Dad (Boston), and was in the toy business like my Dad, as well as being as Irish as Patty\'s Pig. He was also very close to his family, which meant a lot to me. Plus he had the driest and wittiest sense of humor on the planet. You meet a lot of people in your life, some good and some not so good, So glad I had the pleasure of knowing this fine Irish Gentleman; they sure don\'t make them any better than that! In closing, I wish the Irish Blessing to you my friend (General Curtin) ? May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall softly upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand!"