Curtin, 23, known by many of his friends as "Dapper," was a 2008 graduate of Princeton and chemistry graduate student at MIT. He was East Chapel Hill's 2004 valedictorian and ran with the Wildcats' NCHSAA champion cross-country team.
Former East Chapel Hill state tennis champion Dan Greenburg called Curtin "the nicest and smartest boy in his class," said ECH head lacrosse coach Franklin Zirkle. Curtin's sister Allison was on the tennis team and survived cancer during her time at East Chapel Hill, Zirkle noted.
"In the 2004 state championship game, Peter was a brick wall," Zirkle said. "While he faced a very formidable opponent in Mt. Tabor, he simply was playing like a college goalie. Like Wally McGregor, he saved his best high school performance for the most important game."
Wally McGregor
Curtin's passing was the third death of a former East Chapel Hill athlete within a year. Wally McGregor, also a goalie, and a captain of the 2006 state championship team, died in his sleep in January. Last month, former East Chapel Hill and Catawba College football lineman Saber Benson died after a moped accident on the Duke University campus.
McGregor attended Queens University in Charlotte and then moved to New York City. He joined the Globe Institute of Technology team for a year, and was embarking on an acting career at the time of his death.
"This has been a very rough 12 months, when great young men have passed, leaving former teammates stunned and saddened beyond belief," Zirkle said. "We will remember both Peter and Wally before every game, and they will always be a part of our program going forward."
Saber Lazarus Long Benson
Benson, 26, died on Sept. 28, following a moped accident on the Duke University campus. Benson was an employee at The Loop Pizza Grill in Duke's West Union.
Saber was the son of Rebecca May West and Michael Leslie Kenwell Benson, and was a brother of Gates Benson, who also played lacrosse at East Chapel Hill and Guilford College. Saber was married to Jessica Wilson Benson, making him the brother-in-law of former East Chapel Hill lacrosse player Cullen Wilson.
Saber Benson played defensive and offensive line and went on to play football at Catawba College before being injured and transferring to North Carolina State University, Loop manager Dennis Lane told the Duke Chronicle.
"It's part of life--you're going to have friends pass away, but you never can prepare for it, especially when they're 26," said Lane, who coached Benson as an ECH player. "It seems like a week ago he was playing football for me."
Nate Uhlenberg, a Loop employee who had known Benson since the sixth grade, told the Chronicle that Benson spent a lot of time with his Loop co-workers outside of work and was close to several employees who were former classmates and teammates.
"It's been kind of hard for a bunch of us," Uhlenberg said. "He was not afraid of anything. He tried so many things and survived all of them. It's ironic that something like this could stop him."
Peter Norman Curtin
"He was absolutely just one of those rare people who could simultaneously be the life of the party and also was without question one of my smartest friends," Dean Scott (Princeton '07) told the Princeton campus newspaper about Curtin.
A goalie for the university's men's club lacrosse team and a member of Tiger Inn, Curtin, 23, was the son of Anne and Michael Curtin (Princeton '73).
He "out-worked everybody else in the class," said Samson Mesghena, Curtin's roommate of four years at Princeton. "The one thing that rises above all else is how beautifully selfless Pete was. I can honestly say I've never met another human being who's as genuinely selfless as Dapper."
While at Princeton, Curtin won the Global Photonic Corporation Edith and Martin B. Stein Solar Energy Award, given to a student "who has demonstrated excellence in leadership and innovation in research that significantly advances the field of global renewable energy resources."
A memorial service for Curtin will take place at 1:30 p.m. today at the Princeton University Chapel. His family has established the Peter N. Curtin, Class of 2008, Memorial Fund in his memory to support undergraduates in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University. Donations in Peter's memory may be made out to "Princeton University" with the note "Peter N. Curtin, Class of 2008, Memorial Fund" and mailed to Helen Hardy, Princeton University, Alumni and Donor Relations, PO Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543.
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