Curtis Alan Yehnert

Dr. Curtis Alan Yehnert was born on December 12, 1958 in Akron, Ohio to Virgil Eugene Yehnert and Glenna Faye Keener.

Curt completed a Ph.D. in Literature and Folklore at Ohio State University in 1993.  While studying at Ohio State, he would meet Heather Rayne Francaviglia.  The two would be married on June 19, 1993 in Arlington, Texas.

After receiving his doctorate, Curtis taught in several Ohio prisons and on reservations in South Dakota and New Mexico before becoming a professor of English at Western Oregon University in 1997. Curt served as both department and Humanities division chair, but his true love was teaching and writing. He taught a variety of classes in creative writing and literature, including modern and contemporary American literature, Native American literature, folklore, literary existentialism, and authors such as Hemingway and Faulkner. He received the Pastega Award for Teaching in 2000 and retired in 2019.

An active writer, he published articles on American Literature, creative nonfiction, and short stories in several journals, including Studies of Contemporary Fiction, The Ohio Review, Oregon Humanities, and Gray’s Sporting Journal. In 2006, Curt wrote a short history of Western Oregon University, About the Trees.

Curt was a wonderful storytelling and crafter, especially with leather. He would play racquetball and basketball and loved to further his personal education on a variety of subjects. Curtis was described as a wonderful colleague and friend. Supportive and compassionate, hardworking and reliable, he was famously generous with his time, and he was thoughtful in responses to professional and personal problems. And perhaps most importantly, he loved to joke and laugh at this crazy world.

Curt passed away on May 14, 2022, in Salem, Oregon, surrounded by family. He was 63.  Curtis is preceded in passing by his parents Virgil and Glenna.  He is survived by his loving wife, Heather; Children, Jordan (Jessica), Nicholas, Alexander (Breanne), Demetrius and Darius; one grandchild; and siblings, Carl, Carol and Cindy.