Obituaries : * Joseph (Ralph) Curtis; Longtime Nursery Owner

Joseph (Ralph) Curtis, a Ventura resident for nearly 70 years and the owner of one of the oldest nurseries in the city, has died. He was 79.

Curtis died Tuesday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura after a long illness, said his wife of 55 years, Ruth Curtis.

Born in Brach, Ark., Curtis moved to Ventura County with his family when he was 10 years old. He attended Lincoln Grammar School and went to Ventura College.

As a young man, Curtis worked as a wholesale milkman and a bookkeeper. By the age of 18, the ambitious young man owned a small cafe called Pirate’s Den, near Ventura High School, while he managed a tennis shop and attended Ventura College.

“He was a workaholic,” said Ruth Curtis. “That’s why he did so well.”

In 1944, in partnership with a friend, he bought the Mound Nursery, now located at Day Road in Ventura.

“He went into the nursery business because he loved plants,” Ruth Curtis said. “He fell in love with camellias when he was about 18 years old. Since then, he grew hundreds . . . in our home. We have camellias all over the place.”

Curtis, an avid tennis player and fisherman, retired in 1989.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Ray, of Ventura; a brother, James Curtis, of Ventura; a daughter-in-law, Karen Curtis, also of Ventura; a grandson and great-granddaughter; a brother-in-law and several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Ted Mayr Funeral Home in Ventura.