Curt Rowe was born in Houston to Nelson and Julia Catherine Blackman Rowe on November 16, 1954. Mr. Rowe joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1972 and served for four years, including a tour in Vietnam. After being honorably discharged in 1976, Mr. Rowe worked as a dishwasher, store clerk, vacuum cleaner salesman, and oil field roughneck. He also worked in security and personnel management. He eventually founded his own delinquent accounts retrieval company.
Mr. Rowe enjoyed reading science fiction and Shakespeare. He was also an accomplished chess player. A fan of Janice Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix and the Beatles, he also liked Beethoven.
In 1976, Mr. Rowe met a pretty young lady named Angie Garibay. One month and three days later, Curt and Angie married in November. In 1979 God blessed Curt and Angie with a little bundle of joy named Kelly Alexander Rowe. Although the couple divorced in 1984, Angie and Kelly took Mr. Rowe into their home during Mr. Rowe's long and heroic battle with AIDS.
His wish was granted. He will never be buried. Instead he was launched into space: The Final Frontier.
Therefore should every soldier in the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every mote out of his conscience: and dying so, death is to him advantage; or not dying, the time was blessedly lost wherein such preparation was gained: and in him that escapes, it were not sin to think that, making God so free an offer, He let him outlive that day to see His greatness and to teach others how they should prepare.
--William Shakespeare, King Henry V, Act IV, Scene 1
