Honoring
Jeffrey “Jeff” William Curtin

Jeffrey “Jeff” William Curtin of San Rafael, California died Saturday, January 24, 2026 as a result of multiple organ failure. He had been hospitalized since January 3. He was 63.

He is survived by his wife, Sumiko Kimura Curtin of Fremont, CA; his son, William Curtin and William’s wife, who are expecting Jeff’s first grandchild in April 2026; his father, Thomas J. Curtin and his wife, Molly Stranahan of Tucson, Arizona; and his younger sisters: Rose Curtin Caira, her husband, Michael Caira and their two adult children Anderson and Lucas Caira, all of Medfield, Massachusetts; and Alison Curtin of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and Queens, New York; along with uncles, aunts, cousins and some very good friends. His mother, Anna M. Curtin (Von Doehren), died in 2018.

Jeff was born on July 4, 1962 in Passaic, New Jersey. His family later moved to Florham Park where he started school, and then Chester, New Jersey where he attended high school. As a teen and young man, Jeff practiced Taekwondo and Gojo-ryu karate, earning black belts and winning many trophies in competitions. He also enjoyed working on and modifying his beloved bright yellow Plymouth Road Runner.

Jeff graduated from West Morris Central High School in 1980 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. He completed an MBA from American University in 1988 and worked as a financial analyst in New York for a year.

In the early nineties Jeff moved to Japan for several years to teach English and American Culture to Japanese businessmen in Tokyo and Osaka. In Osaka he was smitten by a leading ballerina, Sumiko Kimura, whom he married in 1995. They moved to the California Bay Area, ultimately landing in San Jose, where Jeff worked in sales and market development for a variety of companies including Funai Electric, MShow, IP Dynamics, Graphic Contact, Deepdive Technologies, Kerr Hill and The In Academy.

For approximately seven years prior to his death, Jeff worked for Batteries Plus in San Rafael where he was a creative and productive member of the team. He helped build the company’s commercial services and received multiple sales awards for his work.

Jeff and his family chose for his body to be composted through Recompose in Seattle, Washington, so that in death he might contribute to the earth as soil rather than add to the environmental impact of traditional burial practices.

In his final days, Jeff reflected on the ways addiction had affected his life, including the toll it took on his health, his relationships, and especially his wife and son. He expressed regret for the pain caused by his inability to conquer his dependence on substances.

An online memorial gathering to share stories about Jeff and reflect on what people learned from him will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 5 pm Pacific time. Details are available below.