Obituary: Curtiss (Curt) Lenten Bawden

March 2, 2021

On March 2, 2021, Curtiss (Curt) Lenten Bawden, 86, died. He left Jean, his precious wife of 59 years, two beloved sons, Curtiss (Chip) Bawden (Amy) and Frederick (Fred) Bawden (Mira), two cherished grandsons, Trevor Bawden and Grant Bawden, his dear sister, Grace Gnorski (John), a nephew, John Stewart Gnorski (Katie), relatives and lifelong friends to mourn his death and to celebrate his life.  Curt is predeceased by both his parents and a stillborn son, Daniel Irving Bawden. 

Curt was born to Irving Bawden and Henrietta Alice (Rottman) Bawden in Sheboygan, WI. He attended Lincoln Elementary School and Central High School. Upon graduation, he continued his education at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse where he majored in science and physical education. Following graduation, he enlisted in the US Army Security Training Center at Fort Devens, MA. After serving three years, he began his teaching career as a fifth-grade teacher in Abington, MA. That summer, he met Jean at a summer camp in the Berkshires.  At the end of the summer, they married at Grace Church in Amherst, MA. On Curt’s return to Abington, he taught high school biology, coached track and cross country, headed the science department, and earned his master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts – Bridgewater.  

In 1965, Curt moved to be close to his family in Sheboygan and joined the West Allis-West Milwaukee school system as a general science teacher at Frank Lloyd Wright Junior High. He then received his guidance certification at Marquette University and worked as a guidance counselor at Wright and Nathan Hale High School. In 1987 he became part of the guidance team at West Milwaukee. Besides counseling, Curt coached girls’ cross country and / or track at both Hale and West Milwaukee.  

After working a variety of summer jobs during his teaching career, in 1979, he and his wife bought a cottage nestled in a three hundred tree cherry orchard in Sister Bay, WI.  They named the orchard “Bawden’s Cherry Hill Orchard.” It later included an art gallery and sculpture garden. In 1991, he turned to woodcarving. Eventually, his interests expanded to sculpting stone and casting bronze influenced by former Peninsula Art School instructor and retired UW-Milwaukee sculpture professor, Narendra Patel. Curt has his museum-quality bronze of Jens Jensen, founder of The Clearing, in Ellison Bay on display. 

All his life Curt set goals for himself. At sixteen, he became an Eagle Scout.  He told stories of going to the Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge and of hearing Dwight Eisenhower speak. Later when he had his two boys, he became the Cubmaster of cub-scout Pack 143 at Jefferson Elementary school in Wauwatosa, WI. Later, he was Scoutmaster of Troop 47 at the Congregational Church in Tosa. 

He devoted hundreds of hours to finding his roots through documenting his genealogy. He was able to trace his lineage all the way back to 1740. From his maternal side he discovered his great-great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in 1860. He lived in and operated the Rottman Shoe Store in the Haymarket neighborhood in Milwaukee, WI. Curt found it especially interesting to learn that he had Native American ancestry from the Ojibwa tribe. He attended many powwows in Baraga, MI.  As a result of his lineage search, he and Jean bought a house in Champion, MI, where his paternal great-grandfather emigrated to from Cornwall to mine specular hematite. For thirteen years they spent summers in Champion. In one of the first town meetings, Berle LaPin (Chairman of Champion Township) asked Curt to map the two cemeteries. He carried out Berle’s request with the help of local residents. Later, Curt chaired a committee to build a pocket park named the Berle LaPin Veterans Park. He also helped plan the 2013 sesquicentennial celebration held at the park. Curt enjoyed being both a part of the Champion community and a summertime Yooper.  He will always be a proud Cornishman.

Committal of Curt’s ashes will take place at Grace Episcopal Church in Sheboygan, WI, where Curt was baptized and confirmed. Curt was a lifelong Episcopalian and a longtime member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Wauwatosa, WI.  

The family wishes to thank the medical staff at Froedtert for their extensive care. Also, the family thanks the staff at the Lutheran Home & Season’s Hospice Care for their sensitivity and outstanding care – especially Dr. Bukowy and Sarah M., Curt’s caseworker. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Curt’s memory may be given to The Clearing, P.O. Box 65, Ellison Bay, WI. 54210.   

Curt’s quote to the 1991 graduates at the West-Allis West-Milwaukee ceremony: 

“The road to success is always under construction.” A quote by which he lived.