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Curler, Marvin Raymond

Marvin Raymond Curler, 93, passed away on March 11, 2017.

He was born on a small farm near Wausau WI, the oldest of six children to Ray and Mary Curler. After graduating from Marathon High School, he moved to Detroit and attended trade school. He then entered the Merchant Marines as an “Able Bodied Seaman”, in spite of the fact that he never could swim. He sailed the globe, delivering troops and supplies for three years, including being a part of D-Day. After the war, he returned to Detroit where he drove bus and street cars for a year. He returned to Wausau to work for 3M Trucking. Once again, he switched jobs, this time joining Richardson Painting. It was then that he met and married Lillian “Jon” Buchberger. They had one son, Ray. The young family bought a 20’ trailer that for 10 years took them from the mid-west every summer to Texas for the winters, where he would paint water towers and high line towers. In 1957, he joined his brother Howard and Bob Woods in New London WI. The three of them rented a small building on the Wolf River and started a food packaging company, Curwood. The company grew exponentially. Marvin eventually became president. He and Jon also had a summer cottage at the Waupaca Chain of Lakes and later a year-round home there. They were some of the first to venture south to the newly developing Cape Coral, FL where they wintered for many years. When he retired in 1990, they became official Florida “snowbirds”, where they enjoyed boating and golf. In 2006, they decided to return to their roots in Wisconsin, first to a condo overlooking Little Lake Butte des Morts and then to Touchmark.

He is survived by his son, Ray and daughter-in-law, Suzi; grandsons, Kevin and Brian (Kim) and his sister, JoAnne Akavickas. Jon preceded him in death in July 2016, after 67 years of marriage.

The family would like to extend a huge thank you to Connie Sherman and Dawn Malone for their devoted care as Marvin and Jon’s lives came to an end.

His cremated remains will be laid to rest next to Jon’s at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Appleton. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Marquette University Marvin Curler Endowed Scholarship Fund, 1250 W Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee WI 53201-1881. 414-288-7346

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