AUBURN – Curtis Layton, 65, of Auburn, passed away peacefully late Thursday, Aug. 28, after a brief but courageous battle with brain cancer.

He was born in Portsmouth, N.H., on Jan. 18, 1943, the son of Curtis C. and Claire I. Layton. Curt was retired and lived in Auburn and enjoyed his newly found love of golf and travel. He was a stand-out athlete at Portsmouth High School, graduating in 1961.

After graduation, he began his career at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the mechanical trades and remained until 1969, embarking on numerous sea trials on the newly built nuclear powered submarines. After leaving the Navy yard, he went to work in the growing nuclear power plant industry as a chief mechanical inspector for core barrel and fuel assembly inside the large pressure vessels.

He found himself frequently on the road, visiting different power plant sites under construction, including Maine Yankee. Eventually he left the field altogether because of the extensive traveling. He went on to maintenance management work at production plants including Weyerhaeuser, Etonic, Poland Spring Water and Camden Yarns. Most recently, he was the director of environmental services at the Highlands, located in Topsham.

He enjoyed spending his summers on Sabbathday Lake at his family camp surrounded by family and friends. There was always a game of horseshoes or cards going on. He was a true camping enthusiast and also loved boating on the lake and the ocean.

His surviving family members include Michael and Curtis Jones and their families; his daughter, Alison MacFawn and her husband, Aaron, of Auburn; two stepsons, John Davis and his wife, Sally, of Turner and Jeff Lothrop and his wife, Jean, of Oxford, and their mother, Carol Layton of Auburn; two sisters, Suzette Beevers and her husband, Edward and Patricia Henderson and her husband, Peter, both of Kittery; and one brother, Timothy Layton and his wife, Bobbie, of Portland; 14 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; and his friend, Mary Ann Wearing of Auburn.

The family would like to express their extreme gratitude to the nurses and staff of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and d’Youville Pavilion for the thoughtful and skilled care that was provided to Curt during his illness.