UNION — Laurie Bradford Curtis (born Laurie Ellen Bradford) was born August 7, 1954 to Philip Asa and Norene Loris Cunningham Bradford. Always close to her sister Kim Beth Bradford, she grew up in Vassalboro where they played with their cousins and younger brother Anthony. They later moved to Skowhegan, where she attended high school and met lifelong friends. She recalled stories about going “upta camp” and how she survived swimming between a moose mother and calf, while recounting colorful poems her father carved on the outhouse door.

After Laurie graduated from high school in 1972, she attained her laboratory technician certificate at Reddington Fairview Hospital in Skowhegan and worked at Park Medical Center. 

She was skilled at her work in healthcare, and took a break from work outside the house to raise her two children, Lindsay Beth LeClair (born 1979) and Mark Bradford LeClair (born 1981), after marrying Stephen Louis LeClair in 1977. 

The young family moved several times until 1985 when they found an historic house that was built in 1790 in Waldoboro which they put incredible effort into restoring. Laurie delighted in this new artistic canvas, and her children remember rooms frequently being re-arranged as Laurie took artistic opportunities to redesign. She was always making something, whether baking molasses cookies, making wreaths from brambles in the fields to sell at craft fairs, knitting or crocheting, hand-dipping her semi-famous Christmas candies, or designing historically accurate curtains and color palette for the parlor. Though Laurie and Stephen eventually divorced, they made sure their children were taken care of and loved. 

After returning to work in the medical field, Laurie suffered whiplash at work one day. Her injury stayed with her the rest of her life, eventually developing into spinal arthritis. Laurie met the love of her life, Rick Curtis, and they moved to Union in 1998, where they began saving to build a new house. They found 34 acres on top of a hill with a view of Mount Washington on a clear day. Laurie designed their house “down to the quarter-inch,” to quote Rick, placing historical touches throughout that harken to the cozy aspects of life in the 18th century without the inconveniences. 

Some of her favorite years of her life were spent working alongside Rick as a sternman, lobstering on the Master Joel. Unfortunately, her back injury made it impossible to continue that work. Rick and Laurie married in October 2007 in the presence of their children, family, and dogs. 

During her last years, she derived great joy from the historical series Downton Abbey. Ever the fan of historical dramas, she and her sister Kim went to see the final movie when it was released in September 2025, and then enjoyed some Chinese food, one of her favorite pastimes. She adored her grandchildren, and she took pleasure in sharing the magic of Christmas and Harry Potter with them.

Laurie died unexpectedly at home on December 21, 2025.

Her family and friends will remember Laurie for her genuine warmth and sweetness, radiant smile, positive attitude, and infectious belly laugh.

She is survived by her husband, Rick Curtis; children, Lindsay and Mark; stepsons, Todd and Heath Curtis and their children; and her grandchildren, Calvin and Brody LeClair, Kilei Carey; her nephew. Asa Bradford; and Laurie and Rick’s cat Kitty-Kitty.

In lieu of a funeral, the family is planning a small, private celebration to honor her wishes. 

To share a memory or condolence with Laurie’s family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland.