A gentle giant who served his community and his God well died on January 24 at the age of 77. That man was Curley Jett, who had the historic distinction of being the first African American Police Chief of the City of Williamsport. Curley did not live his life necessarily to be a trailblazer, but he did live his life serving others.
He came to Williamsport from Harrisburg in the early 1970s, first attending what was then Williamsport Area Community College, now Penn College. He then applied to be a policeman and overcame many barriers to become a Williamsport police officer in 1973. Interestingly, the late 1970s was the high watermark of the employment of African Americans as Williamsport policemen. Curley was one of five African Americans in the department at that time.
He steadily rose through the ranks until he eventually became chief of the department during the administration of Mayor Steven Cappelli, who appointed him chief. Curley retired from the department as chief in 2001.
Curley always strongly believed in the people part of policing and was a strong advocate for community policing. He believed it was best for officers to get out of their cars and circulate and get to personally know the people in the neighborhoods they were serving and policing. That is probably reflective of the fact that Curley was a “people person” and loved serving others.
One of Curley’s former colleagues on the police department, former Captain and later District Judge, Jim Carn, recalled him fondly in a post on Facebook, writing, “Curley, Tony Evans, Tom Croft, Joe Eck and I all went through the Allentown Police Academy together over 48 years ago in the fall of 1973. At the academy, a group of us were watching a ‘Three Stooges’ comedy one night after class, and Moe called Curly ‘Curlington.’ Some of us then hung the name of ‘Curlington’ on Jett as his humorous formal name, and he seemed to like it. I was probably partnered with Curley more than anyone else for the best part of five years. We responded to a lot of serious as well as hilarious calls addressing the crazy things people do. He used to about drive me out of the cruiser with his smoking, CB set barking, and his music cranked up full blast to the point of vibrating the car windows. Godspeed, Curley.”
Larry Moore, former director of the Bethune-Douglass Community Center, knew Curley on a close personal basis. They worked together on many projects at BD, and Curley was always involved closely in the activities at the center.
“It is hard to adequately describe Curley on what he meant to me and to the Williamsport community. He was an iconic, larger-than-life figure,” Moore told Webb Weekly. “He was always willing to help anyone who needed his help. He was a very generous and giving man. He had a great heart.”
Moore said Curley loved working with youth and helping to send them on the right path of life.
“I remember many times when Curley would stop on his lunch break and shoot hoops with the kids at BD and ask them how they were doing in school and emphasize to them the value of education. He loved the Bethune-Douglass Center and eventually served as the president of its board of directors,” Moore said.
Moore remembers Curley as a fun-loving guy who enjoyed a good time.
“We were very close. I remember that me, Jim Wilkinson and Curley did a lot of stuff together and had a lot of fun. We were like the Three Musketeers,” said Moore.
Moore noted Curley’s strong religious faith. “Curley was a man of God. He loved his God and served him well. He was blessed by the Lord. Curley gave of himself as an associate pastor of the Love Unlimited Ministry and at the Shiloh Baptist Church.”
I also remember Curley quite well. I remember getting to know him somewhat while my late father was Emergency Management Director for the City of Williamsport from 1976 to 1996. I would see him at various times at police headquarters, but I would also see him at various fire and accident scenes as well as sometimes just strolling around the neighborhoods just getting to know the people he served better. When he would see me, he would always ask how I was doing and call me “Junior” since I had the same first name as my dad. He always smiled when he did that; he did it with the infectious smile that he had. You sensed right off that that this man cared about people and about his community.
I think this quote from an African sage named Kalu Ndukwe Kalu epitomizes Curley best, “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone. But the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” Using that criterion, Curley has a wonderful legacy.
