In the sanctuary at Oxford United Methodist Church sits a shiny black grand piano donated by the Curtis family as a fitting tribute to a truly musical lady.
For about 30 years, the late Ruth Curtis filled this house of worship on E. Burdick St. with heavenly notes as she directed the choir and tickled the ivories.
How appropriate that today another Curtis sits at the keys every Sunday morning.
‘I come from a long line of musicians,? said Susie (Curtis) Ward, who was hired as the church’s music director in June. ‘The whole Curtis family has always been very musical.?
Born and raised in Oxford, Ward is the niece of the late Ralph and Ruth Curtis (of Curtis Insurance fame) and daughter of Arthur and Carol Curtis.
Every week Ward, a 1978 graduate of Oxford High School, is responsible for planning, selecting, rehearsing and directing the music for a contemporary church service with a Praise Band at 9 a.m. and a classic one with a traditional choir at 11 a.m.
‘Those are two very distinct worship services so it takes quite a bit of time to plan,? said Ward, who devotes about 15 hours a week to make sure all the vocal and instrumental performances sound polished.
That’s on top of working 25 hours a week playing piano for Oxford’s middle school and high school choirs, a job she’s been doing since 1995.
For Ward, music and worship are inseparable.
As a young girl, her father was the minister and music director at the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Lake Orion.
She spent many a Sunday singing in her dad’s choir with her mother right beside her.
‘With my father being a minister, we were always singing in some church or his church,? Ward said.
Her parents ‘practically groomed? her to be a music director.
‘My mom taught me to sing harmony and my dad taught me to play trumpet,? said Ward, who also loves to play the accordion, particularly at Polka parties.
At the young age of 22, she was hired as music director at the First Congregational Church of Almont, a position she held for 22 years.
‘I just feel a closeness to God when I start singing or playing,? Ward said. ‘I feel if I can get just a little bit of that out to somebody in the day, I’ve done what I was born to do.?
Given her background, it’s hard to believe there was a time when Ward wished to make airplanes, not music, her career.
After obtaining her pilot’s license when she was 20 years old, Ward worked as a flight instructor and air traffic controller in Romeo for a few years.
But ‘it was not what I wanted to do,? she said. ‘Music was my love.?
‘Music is the key thing in my life,? explained Ward, who lives on a horse farm in Hadley with her daughters Abby, 17, and Sophie, 6.
Although she didn’t grow up attending Oxford United Methodist, her new role there feels like a homecoming, especially since she’s following in her aunt Ruth’s footsteps.
‘I have felt such a warm welcome from the people here,? Ward said. ‘They have really drawn my girls and I into their family.?