Ivol Curtis; Retired Episcopal Bishop Held No. 2 Post in L.A. in Late ‘50s, ‘60s

The Rt. Rev. Ivol Ira Curtis, former suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and more recently bishop of the Seattle-based Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, where he was credited with great strides in advancing civil rights and battling poverty, has died.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Diocese, where he served as chief assistant to the Rt. Rev. Francis Eric Bloy from 1959 until 1964, said Curtis was 85 when he died Tuesday near Laguna Hills, where he had retired 18 years ago.

Curtis was praised in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer obituary as “a man . . . who displayed an incredible capacity to keep people talking to each other and keep doors open” during the civil rights unrest of the 1960s and 1970s. The newspaper also cited Curtis’ efforts to feed the poor during the 1969-70 recession that racked Seattle.

Curtis held divinity degrees from the Seabury-Western Seminary in Evanston, Ill., and several honorary doctorates.

He came to Los Angeles from Pontiac, Mich., after serving churches in Massachusetts and New York since his ordination in 1935. He became rector of St. James Church, serving the Wilshire district and Hancock Park area of the city.

During his years in Los Angeles, the diocese grew to encompass eight counties and 181 congregations with a membership of more than 125,000.

Curtis is survived by his wife, Lillian, two sons, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Services will be in Seattle on March 19.