At the age of 17, Dolores Curtis left the family farm in Wisconsin and her nine older siblings in search of adventure in a big city. She chose Chicago, where she married restaurant owner Dick Williford and later opened a lingerie store in the Lakeview area at 553 W. Belmont Ave. Mrs. Curtis, 75, died of liver cancer Monday, June 5, in Evanston Hospital. After the move to Chicago, Mrs. Curtis used her shorthand skills to land a job as a secretary in the corporate offices of Marshall Field’s. Once she married Williford, she began working at his supper club restaurants, one at 514 Diversey Pkwy. and the Camel Trail at 2401 N. Clark St. Williford died in 1963, and Mrs. Curtis took over ownership of the two eateries. She married again in 1965, and she and her new husband, Douglas Curtis, continued running the restaurants for a short time before they sold them. In 1973, Mrs. Curtis opened the lingerie shop. She moved it across the street 10 years later and in the early 1990s shut it down. “She always loved being in a people [oriented] business,” said her daughter, Heather Andersen.”She loved being the hostess, talking to customers and helping people out in the store.” In later years, she volunteered at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago and Nettlehorst Elementary School. Other survivors include two grandsons. A memorial service is being planned in Door County, Wis.
