Nebraska bids
farewell to Curtis
State’s longest-serving Republican
senator dies at age 94 after illness
By Derek Iippincott and
Lindsay Young
Senior staff
Carl Curtis, Nebraska’s longest
serving Republican U.S. senator,
died Monday at age 94.
He died at about 8:30 p.m. in
Lincoln following a long illness.
Curtis retired from the U.S.
Senate in 1979 after 40 years in
Congress.
Gov. Mike Johanns ordered state
and federal flags to fly at half-staff
through Monday to honor Curtis.
“Senator Curtis was a well
respected state leader,” Johanns said
in a press release.
“He cared about Nebraskans and
never forgot his roots. ... His wit,
leadership and friendship will be
missed.”
J.L. Spray, Lancaster County
Republican Party chairman, said
Curtis’ presence in Congress was
invaluable.
“I’m 40 years old, and I can’t
remember a time in my life when
Carl Curtis wasn’t a fixture in
Congress,” Spray said.
“Cdrl was a real helpful person. If
you had a problem or a political
issue, Carl was really interested in
getting an answer to you.”
An ardent conservative, Curtis’
opposition to President Franklin
Roosevelt’s New Deal was central to
his first campaign er the House in
1938 at 33.
He served 16 years in the House
and 24 in the Senate.
Former Gov. Frank Morrison said
though he and Curtis didn’t always
agree - Morrison was a proponent of
Roosevelt’s program - he still
respected Curtis’ views.
“We’ve been friends for 62
years,” Morrison said. “He represent
ed what politics should be.”
Curtis was bom March 15, 1905,
growing up in a family of Democrats.
In 1930, he ran as a Democrat and
was elected Kearney County attor
ney.
He served one term but lost his
re-election bid in 1934.
In 1936, Curtis switched to the
GOP, saying he felt more comfort
able as a Republican.
Curtis’ personal life was marred
by tragedy. His adopted daughter,
1 X Y
^ If you had a
problem or
political issue,
Carl was really
interested in
geting an answer
to you.”
J.L. Spray
Lancaster County Republican Party
Chairman
Claramae Hopkins, went blind from
diabetes and died in 1967 at the age
of 31. Three years later, his first wife,
Claramae Curtis Hopkins, died.
Curtis remarried in 1972 and is
survived by his second wife, Mildred,
and an adopted son, Carl T. Curtis Jr.
In Congress, Curtis concentrated
on taxes, individual retirement sav
ings, flood control, irrigation, Social
Security and investigations involving
wrongdoing in the federal govern
ment.
As a member of the Joint
Committee on Revenue, Curtis was
involved with the investigation of the
late President Richard Nixon’s taxes.
His support for Nixon never
wavered, even as other Republicans
turned away from the president or
accepted his fate.
Curtis stood firm as one of
Nixon’s last defenders.
“I feel that I spoke up for a man
falsely accused,” he said in 1997.
Chuck Sigerson, state GOP chair
man, called Curtis a political icon.
He said with the loss of former Gov.
Robert Crosby and former U.S. Sen.
Roman Hruska, a political era has
ended in the state.
“Because of the honesty and
integrity they were known for, they
were often able to accomplish their
work with only a handshake and their
word,” Sigerson said.
Funeral services were scheduled
for 11 a.m. Thursday at Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Minden.
The Associated Press con
tributed to this report.
i ■
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I Funds to establish history post
By Kimberly Sweet
Staff writer
UNL’s history department will
soon be home to a professor with a
first-class knowledge of world history
and its effects on current events.
Elwood “Jack” Thompson and
Katherine Clarice Thompson - the cou
ple who started the E.N. Thompson
lectures on world issues at UNL - have
donated $300,000 to endow a profes
sor in the history department who will
specialize in world history and interna
tional relations.
The endowment will be matched
with funds from the Mildred Topp
Othmer endowment. It will allow the
department to work toward a special
ized area, said Dane Kennedy, history
department chairman.
“This is a wonderful opportunity
for the history department,” Kennedy
said. “It’s an endowed chair within a
field we have worked to see developed
for some time.”
The couple also increased the
endowment for the E.N. Thompson
Forum on World Issues by giving a
$250,000 gift.
The increase of support to the lec
ture series, which brings nationally
and internationally recognized speak
ers to UNL, will allow higher profile
speakers to come to campus-, said Herb
Howe, associate to the chancellor.
Jack Thompson said the purpose
of providing support for the professor
ship and the lectures is to give students
a foundation that will help them under
stand current events.
“History provides a factual basis
for understanding what has gone on in
the past,” Jack Thompson said. “Facts
help people to be oriented more thor
oughly than someone’s opinion.”
Jack Thompson said he wanted the
professor to be a “top-notch” teacher.
Kennedy said he was hopeful
about recruiting a reputable professor
to the department.
“I think we have a strong, conge
nial department,” Kennedy said. “It
has positioned itself to focus on world
history as an area of strength.”
Kennedy said he could not say
when the search to fill the position
would begin.
The professorship is one among
more than two dozen that are eligible
for matching funds from the Mildred
Topp Othmer fund, Howe said.
.4k.
The Thompsons’ gifts are two out
of many that have been given to enrich
the study of international affairs at
UNL.
The E.N. Thompson lectures,
started in 1988, have given students, as
well as Nebraskans, a chance to hear
from world-renowned speakers, Howe
said.
Crowds for some of the speakers
have filled the Lied Center for
Performing Arts and spilled over to
Kimball Hall, Howe said.
“They’ve been very well
received,” he said.
The Thompsons have provided
support for numerous related activities
through the Cooper Foundation. The
foundation, of which Jack Thompson
is chairman, supports initiatives in
education, the arts, humanities and
human services.
Jack Thompson has had a presence
in improving higher education in
Nebraska for the last 20 years, Howe
said.
Thompson said his dedication to
higher education exists because he
sees the state’s dependence on it.
“It is one of the leading enterprises
in the state,” Thompson said.
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speech postponed
From staff reports
Nobel Peace Prize winner
Desmond Tutu had to postpone his
speaking engagement at the Lied
Center for Performing Arts on Tuesday
after a snowstorm hit the East Coast.
Tutu planned on flying in from
Washington, D.C., on a private plane,
said Tom Simons, a member of the
Office of Public Relations. His plane
could not leave after the snowstorm hit
Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
The Baltimore-Washington airport
reported more than 7 inches of snow on
Tuesday. Washington Reagan National
Airport reported many delays and can
cellations in its flight schedule.
Tutu’s lecture is planned to be
rescheduled. No time has been set, said
Wayne Babchuk, program specialist for
Academic Conferences and
Professional Programs.
Correction
Lincoln City Councilman Jon
Camp’s named was misspelled in
Tuesday’s Daily Nebraskan.
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