What Pam Dunning liked best about serving with her neighbor, William “Bill” Curtis, on the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen was his willingness to listen to a different view.

“You could disagree with him on a topic or an issue, and you could have a really good discussion. He was always willing to hear your side,” said Dunning, now the board’s chairman. The two used to ride together to the board’s meetings.

Curtis died Oct. 3 at the age of 86.

The Wiscasset Newspaper contacted some of his past colleagues on the board and town officials for their reflections on the past selectman, former director of the Wiscasset Ambulance Service and retired aeronautical space engineer. Curtis helped design America’s first deep-space reconnaissance satellite, and served as Bath Iron Works’ corporate safety director.

“I was very saddened to hear of Bill's passing,” former Wiscasset selectman Judy Colby wrote in an email. “Bill was a gentleman and a mentor for all newcomers on the board of selectmen. Bill had a passion for the town and served it well. I remember having discussions with Bill and exchanging thoughts and ideas. Sometimes Bill would change my mind and other times he would not, but he always respected others’ opinions,” Colby wrote.

“William was a well-loved man who contributed several years’ service to the town and will be missed,” Wiscasset Town Clerk Christine Wolfe and Wiscasset Assessors’ Agent Sue Varney wrote in a joint statement Wolfe shared on Oct. 6.

Wiscasset benefited from Curtis’ experience with safety and other matters, Dunning said in a telephone interview Monday.

“This is a real loss to the town,” she said.

Selectman Jeff Slack agreed, saying Curtis was a stickler for quality control in his career and his work on the board. “He always knew when the fire department needed equipment,” Slack said.

In a May 2013 interview, Curtis described himself as having a passion for public safety, and a “super-passion” for the fire department.

Curtis was one of the first people Ed Polewarczyk met when he moved to Wiscasset, and Curtis was one of his first friends in town. Polewarczyk said Curtis nudged him into local politics, first to join the budget committee and later the board of selectmen, which Polewarczyk later chaired.

As with others interviewed, Polewarczyk recalled having good discussions with Curtis on local issues.

“He had the best interests of Wiscasset at heart, and he will be missed,” Polewarczyk said Monday night.

Curtis finished a total of five years’ service on the board in June 2013. Slack said that, when he joined the board, Curtis was a mentor to him.

“He really knew his stuff, and when it came to protocol, like about when to speak, he would just tap me on the leg and say, ‘Young fella, it’s your time to speak now,’” Slack said.