Gary Curtis born in Niles, Michigan and was a three-time state qualifier for Niles High School. He went on to wrestle at Graceland College and was a four-time MCAU conference champion.  He was team captain of the wrestling team his junior and senior years. Gary also played baseball at Graceland.

Gary was the head coach at Highland Riverside from 1968-1993, spanning 25 years.  He had a record of 191 wins, 91 losses and one tie.  His teams won seven conference titles, six Sectional titles and in 1979 his team finished 3rd  in the state tournament.  Gary was seven-time District Coach of the Year and in 1985 was Wrestling Coach of the Year. In 1994 Gary was inducted into the IHSAA Wrestling Hall Of Fame.  Today the Gary Curtis Wrestling Tournament is named after him.

In addition to coaching wrestling, Gary was the head baseball coach at Highland from 1968-1970.  He was asked to start the softball team at Highland and did that for seven years, then returning to baseball again and coached there until 2004. Gary is a member of the Iowa High School Baseball Association 300 Club and his baseball team made it to the semi-finals in 1985.  Gary retired from the Highland School District after 48 years.