Charles "Curly" M. Eliassen, 88, died Sunday, Nov. 2, 1997, in Sun City, Calif.

Mr. Eliassen was born July 15, 1909, in Blair to George and Maude Eliassen. He grew up in Blair and was a 1929 graduate of Blair High School, where he participated in dramatics and played football. He was also a graduate of Long Beach College in California. During World War II, he served in the US Army, TSGT, INF Branch, for three years with action in the Pacific Theater. He worked for the city of Los Angeles, Calif., where he trained life guards and taught swimming. He also was a sales representative for 20 years for Kerr Glass Company in Los Angeles. In 1974 he retired to Sun City, Calif. On Jan. 18, 1953, he married Claire Benoit in Las Vegas.

Survivors are his wife, Claire; two brothers, Francis of Sun City and James of Beaverton, Ore; and his sister, Bessie Mills of Fremont, Neb.