MADISON — Papal award recipient Eleanor Ryan Curtin, 93, of Madison died on Monday, Feb. 3, at home, surrounded by her family.
She was awarded the Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope John Paul II in 1997 in recognition of service to the Church in the Diocese of Madison.
Eleanor was born May 13, 1920, the daughter of Dr. Frank and Loretto (Carbery) Ryan in Chicago, Ill.
She attended high school at Loretta Academy in Chicago and went on to Chicago Teachers College and received her teaching degree in 1942.
She was a kindergarten teacher in Chicago until her marriage to William J. Curtin II in 1944 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Chicago.
She and her husband settled in Madison. They had seven children.