Curtis C. Nash, 41, of Los Angeles, Calif., formerly of Champaign, passed away on Monday, March 19, 2012, at the USC Medical Center, Los Angeles.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the First United Methodist Church, 210 W. Church St., Champaign, with the Rev. Tom Corum officiating.
The family will receive friends before the service, from 1 to 2 p.m. After the service, there will be a reception for family and friends from 3 to 5 p.m.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, 307 W. University Ave., Champaign, IL 61820, for the Curtis C. Nash Children’s Creativity Fund, or to the First United Methodist Church, 210 W. Church St., Champaign, IL  61820, in Curtis’ memory for Youth Service Projects and Trips.
Curtis was born Dec. 11, 1970, in Urbana. Surviving are his parents, Richard and Nancy S. Nash of Savoy; brother, Eric R. Nash of Palm Springs, Calif.; aunt, Clara S. Bosshart of Kent, Ohio; uncle, Charles R. Sturies of Champaign and Danville; and cousins, Samantha Bosshart of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Thomas E. Dore of Hennepin.
He leaves behind close friends, Bryan Brooks of Texas; Michelle Brooks Seliskar of Colorado; Mark Rose of California; Kim Robeson Schwenk and Lisa Kidd, both of Champaign; Mark Lewis of California; and other cousins in California, Iowa and Illinois.
Curtis was preceded in death by his grandparents, Col. Carl H. and Juanita Sturies (gramma Nita) and Samuel and Ida Nash (gramma Cornfield).
Curtis attended Kenwood Elementary, Jefferson Middle and Centennial High schools.
He grew up in the First United Methodist Church and participated in MYF, the Youth Choir and choir trips. He was an active member of 4-H. Beginning in elementary school, he swam in the summer for 10 years on the Aqua Chiefs swim team and was a member of the Centennial High School swim team.
He began violin lessons at Kenwood and was a member of the orchestras of Jefferson and Centennial. For many years he took private piano lessons and attended the University of Illinois Saturday Art Classes.
He won a scholarship to attend a UI summer Art Camp. After graduating from Centennial in 1989, he began his studies at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in interior design.
He was an active member of the student chapters of the American Society of Interior Designers and American Institute of Architects. He won several student competitions in design. He was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
During the summer of 1992, he attended the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Queretaro, Mexico, with a Spanish Study Abroad program of Parkland College.
He traveled with family and friends throughout the continental United States and Hawaii; and abroad in Italy, England, Scotland, France, Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru, with a focus on architecture, interiors and historical preservation.
He enjoyed spending time at the ocean. For more than 25 years, he spent many vacations at his family’s homes on the southern coast of North Carolina on Topsail Island. He wished to have his ashes spread on the beach there.
He always loved the family pets, especially Sambo III and Little Dog. He was an avid reader and acquired an outstanding library on a wide variety of subjects. He has willed his books on art, architecture and design to the Library of Interior Design at SIU, Carbondale.
He began his career in interior design in 1994, establishing HomeWork Painting and Decorating in Champaign. He provided design and decorating services and consultation. His close friend, Bryan Brooks, worked with him.
He closed HomeWork in the fall of 2001, after more than seven successful years of operation, and moved to Madison, Wis., to work for Banana Republic in sales and merchandise display.
From 2002 to 2003, he worked for Pier 1 Imports in Madison as sales manager. Next he transferred with Pier 1 Imports to Raleigh, N.C., as senior assistant store manager and visual manager for three stores in that area.
In 2005, he began working at Storehouse, a retail showroom with designer furnishings, as a design and sales consultant. He was consistently the monthly sales leader.
In 2006, he moved to Los Angeles, Calif., and began working for Century Furniture in their showroom (to the trade) at the Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles. He was showroom manager and design and sales consultant.
For quite a few quarters, Curtis was the No. 1 sales leader among the 11 Century showrooms in the U.S. He worked for Century until 2011 and then worked as an independent design and painting contractor.
Curtis was a person of great faith, a hopeful, happy, healthy, hardworking, energetic, enthusiastic, fun-loving, sociable, friendly, determined, ambitious, generous, multi-talented, creative, respectful and adventurous person with great style and taste and a multitude of interests and passions.
He was most appreciative of his family and many friends whom he loved very much. Curtis was a gentle soul with a heart of gold, lovable, loving, kind and compassionate, strong and brave.
All who knew and loved him will always miss him and never forget his dazzling smile!