IT is not surprising that traffic on roads leading to St. Paul's Anglican Church in Paget was snarled around midday on Saturday, and that the church itself was packed to overflowing by the crowds who turned out despite the inclement weather to pay last respects to William Eugene Curtis.

Curtis, as he was respectfully known far and wide, was a monarch in Bermuda's hospitality industry, which he served for most of his 92 years.

Curtis was a gentleman's gentleman. He was just plain neat; and was an extraordinary, inspiring role model. He was one of the last of a class of old Bermudians who in the course of their everyday work personified cordiality, geniality and, in short, politeness without a trace of servility.

As far as the hotel industry goes we need only mention the late 'Sheik' Mariera, Tommy Williams, Naboth Edness, 'Chili' Simons, D.A. Brown, Percy Paynter, Robert Trew and 'Cookie' Rogers.

Also of that class of giants were most definitely Ben Tucker, Chester Woolridge, Alma Price, Ivan and Wilbur Trott and Albert Crofton. We still have with us the Dalzell Ratterays and the Audrey Symonds.

I was privileged to have known personally all of the foregoing, especially Curtis, and how in particular they were tourist attractions in themselves, and were reasons for generations of repeat visitors coming to Bermuda.

Eugene Curtis was born on May 15, 1915, the second son of William Stanley and Margaret Douglas Curtis of Paget. I learned that his father was a descendant of an Indian woman from Peru named Mardo. She settled in Bermuda and had one child for a sailor named Curtis. Later she married a man named Dill for whom she had a large family, thus making the big Dill and Curtis clan cousins.

ACCORDING to the obituary given at the funeral by Mrs. Joan Burgess, Eugene attended Paget Glebe School until he was age 14 when he began his career in the hotel industry, at the Buena Vista Hotel which was within walking distance of his home.

In this era of fast ferries, there are probably only a few people who remember there was a time that the most reliable ferry between Hamilton and Lower Paget was via rowboat. Curtis was one of the sturdy youngsters who rowed on the Lower Ferry. He also worked at the Bermuda Bakery and for C.B. (Gus) Davis in construction. Davis was reputed to be the richest black man in Bermuda.

It was while working for Mr. Davis that young Curtis met his daughter Amy Irene, and his boss became his father-in-law when they married on June 5, 1941. Coincidentally, Eugene's younger brother Cecil married Gus Davis' other daughter Alice. The marriage of Eugene and Amy endured for 47 years, until her passing in 1989. Their union produced three children, son Marvin and daughters Leonie and Coral Margaret (Peggy).

Young Curtis entered the hotel industry with enthusiasm, impressing his fellow workers, bosses and later his staff all along the line from bus boy, bellman and waiter at the old Inverurie Hotel, Hamilton Princess and at Horizons Cottages as a dining room captain. For many years he was maitre d' at Coral Beach Club. His last working days were as concierge at Southampton Princess from the date of its grand opening.

Curtis took a fatherly interest in his staff. They gained inspiration working for him; he encouraged them to open bank accounts. Those were the days when tips were really good, according to his daughter Leonie.

A $100 tip was nothing then. Many of his staff ended up owning their own homes; some became partners in one or another of his entrepreneurial scheme. Most notable partner was Robert Trew. They bought and sold property in St. David's and elsewhere. They opened a shop in the old Imperial Hotel, selling, among other thing, lamb's-wool sweaters. Trew became a multi-millionaire owning and operating Eve's Cycles in Paget and St. George's.

Staff working under Curtis had no problem conforming to the strict attention he required them to pay to their personal hygiene, hair, teeth, fingernails and shoes. A most important requirement was that they came to work with two shirts. Those were the days before air-conditioning, necessitating a change of clothing for the evening shift.

Curtis was an early member of the Leopards Club International. He was a member of Hannibal Freemasons Lodge in St. George's, and a Shriner. One of his great joys was travelling with his Masonic Brethren to the United States, Canada, Europe and as far away as Australia. The Masons provided an honour guard at the funeral and performed rites at the graveside.

Officiating at the service was Canon James Francis. Assisting were Archdeacon Andrew Doughty and the Rev. Nicholas Genevieve Tweede, who is pastor of Macedonia AME Church in New York. A tribute was given by Raymond Russell, the outspoken advocate of hotel workers' rights. Two great-great nieces of Curtis rendered musical selections.

Eleven-year-old flautist Laurin Davis played Ageless Dream, while six-year-old Lauren Curtis Tweede sang Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom of the Opera. It is not often one gets a standing ovation at a funeral, but that was Lauren's for her pluck.

Her mother Phyllis Curtis Tweede, a trained musician, accompanied her on the piano, with her father Rev. Tweede turning the pages on the music stand for the child. When one page accidentally fell to the floor, the father picked it up. In his haste he placed it upside down on the stand, but Lauren just kept singing while turning it right side up.

Mr. Curtis is survived by his three children, daughter-in-law Annette Curtis, sister Margaret Curtis Lee and her husband Charles Lee and sister-in-law Alice Davis Curtis.