Shelby  County  Indiana
Obituaries

Curulla

Flintoft's  Funeral  Home
Issaquah, Washington
September 2022
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Virginia  Latta  Curulla
September 25, 1934 - September 17, 2022
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          Virginia Latta Curulla died peacefully at home in Bellevue, Washington on Sept. 17, 2022 at the age of 87 after several years of declining health.
          She was born  Virginia Ann  to  Charles Webster Latta Sr.  and  Sophie Christina Henderson  on September 25, 1934 at Providence Hospital in Seattle.  Virginia, the fourth and last child, was preceded in death by siblings  Marjorie Jane (Robert [Merrill] MacLean),  Charles Webster Jr. (Patricia Brown),  and  Carol Ruth (Cato Jacobson).
          Virginia grew up near Lake Union, attending St. Benedict Elementary School in Wallingford.  She was valedictorian of her 1952 graduating class at Holy Names Academy, Seattle.
          Virginia attended Marylhurst College near Portland with a scholarship for several years.  She finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington following her marriage to  Joseph J. Curulla in June 1956.
          Joe and Virginia lived over her father’s business on Lake Union during the first years of their marriage.  Then they bought a house, moved it from the new I-5 route in Roanoke to north Seattle and worked together to continually improve it over 50 years.  They adopted their first son,  Jerome Anthony,  in 1960, and their second son,  Christopher Joseph,  in 1961.  Their third child,  Mary Ann,  was born in January 1963, followed by  David Charles  in August 1964, and  Joseph Edward  in July 1967.
          Virginia was active in the community, her parish, St. Catherine, and the Olympic View PTA while her children were growing up.  She also studied early childhood education at the North Seattle Community College, and obtained a master’s degree in early childhood special education at the University of Washington in 1973.
          When her youngest son began school, Virginia began working as a special education consultant with the Seattle-King County Head Start program.  She traveled to centers throughout the county, consulting and providing services to young children with special needs.
          In 1983, Virginia returned to studies at the University of Washington in the department of Educational Psychology.  She obtained a master’s degree in School Psychology.
          In 1991, she received a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, with an emphasis on Human Development and Cognition at the University of Washington.
          While pursuing graduate studies, Virginia supervised testing services at the Learning Disabilities Association of Washington.  She also designed and implemented the Life Skills Program for offenders for the LDA, a program that continues to provide services to teens and young adults in the community.
          While completing her doctoral studies and afterward, Virginia worked as a school psychologist for Seattle Public Schools, serving among others at King, Graham Hill, Alki, Hughes, McGilvra, Latona (now John Stanford International Elementary), Greenwood, and Ingraham High School.  Throughout all these years, Virginia remained involved with her own children and their schooling.
          In 1995, Virginia opened her Eastlake Avenue office for private practice, doing principally evaluations for learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.  She maintained that office for several years while also working part-time for the school district.
          Virginia retired from Seattle Public Schools in 2000 because of illness resulting from previously undiagnosed Celiac Disease.  She continued working from her home office, doing evaluations for learning disabilities particularly with university students.
          Virginia liked spending time with her children and grandchildren, including activities such as Children’s Theatre and taking them to the beach or to parks.
          She enjoyed traveling to Italy to visit Joe’s family there and building their beautiful retirement home when both were over seventy years old.  Virginia liked seeing things grow, and maintained a bountiful vegetable and flower garden for many years.  Genealogical research was a favorite activity when time allowed.  Virginia enjoyed finding and meeting new cousins throughout the United States, and sharing ancestors’ photos and stories through a family newsletter.  Organizing annual summer family picnics and holiday celebrations was very important for her.
          Virginia and Joe celebrated sixty years of marriage with and a celebration at their house in June 2016 along with a renewal of their marriage vows at St. Catherine.
          Virginia is survived by her husband, her son  Jerome A. Curulla and his wife,  Chris Nyland; her son,  Christopher J. Curulla;  her daughter,  Mary Ann Curulla Higgins,  and her husband,  John;  her son  David C. Curulla;  her son  Joseph E. Curulla  and his wife  Susan Hsu;  seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
          A funeral mass will be held at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Seattle at 11 am, followed by 2 pm burial at Holyrood Cemetery on October 12, 2022.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming

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