Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

PASSAGES Therese Curran dies
2018-01-15

This article shared 3549 times since Mon Jan 15, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Therese Curran passed away Jan. 8 unexpectedly from a tragic fall. She was born in Newry, Northern Ireland on July 4, 1966 to Dan and Nuala.

Curran is survived by her beloved wife, Sharon Mylrea, together 14 years and married in 2014; her loving siblings Maeve (Eugene) Gallagher, the late Danny (Barbara) Curran, Michael (Roberta) Curran, Rosemary (Frank) Mooney, John (Rosemary) Curran, Vincent Curran (Breige), Ann (Mark) Poland, Patricia O'Neal and P.J. Curran; her dear father-in-law and mother-in-law Earl and Marian Mylrea; her caring brothers-in-law Steve (Lesley) Mylrea, Dave (Trudy) Mylrea and caring sister-in-law MariLyn (David) Lefeber; her abundance of nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews; and her many, many other family and friends she had all over the world, especially Chicago, Madison and Ireland.

Therese was preceded in death by her mother, father, and brother Danny.

She attended Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, and held a bachelor of arts with honors in geography. She also had a diploma in administrative management from the Institute of Administrative Management in Belfast.

Curran was in the Ulster Youth Theatre in the 1980s, and she acted alongside Susan Lynch, who later won a British Independent Film Award.

Curran came to America on an Irish lottery visa and worked for Naim Audio. From there she worked as an administrator at Loyola University, production coordinator with Conn's and Rita's Catering, and then as corporate purchasing coordinator at Extended Care, LLC.

Curran and Mylrea moved to Madison where Curran joined the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine as a medical program assistant for the heart failure and transplant department faculty, staff and fellows.

Curran was a burning star that brought love, laughter and light to this world, friends said. To family and friends, Curran was a saint. Curran was the love of Sharon Mylrea's life. Her best friend and wife. Soul mates.

From her obituary on the Cremation Society website:

"We gave Therese many nicknames, often to her chagrin and to spark her intoxicating laughter. We called her 'T.' We called her 'T-Ball' and 'Uncle Therese.' Told her to not 'go Scottish on us.' She was our 'Irish Lass' and we were her 'Muckers.' She was our 'Auntie' and 'Dollie.' In the best of times, we were even 'chancers' willing to get our 'arse' kicked in the Irish art of word fencing. The Mylrea Manx clan 'was good at teasing but not yet ready for my family' T reminded us.

"Therese celebrated life. She didn't wait for birthdays or holidays to have fun. She never complained, was quick to forgive, quicker to smile. T would never want her friends and family to mourn. But we miss that spark in the voice of our Irish lass.

"T's eyes sparkled. Her spirit was jovial and brilliant, serious and empathetic, selfless and kind. Her eyes would connect with you. You would smile when she entered and miss her when she left the room.

"Therese loved family and friends. She made you feel good: laugh, live and love a little more. She was informed by her education at Queens University, Belfast with honors in Geography. Her understanding of people and place made conversations with her fly by as she jumped from history to politics, family to friends, philosophy to religion with ease. She understood all people were equal, no matter what station in life. Hours felt like minutes, days like hours- time seemed to stand still. You never wanted it to end. She had great wisdom and intuition.

"Time with Therese was like one of her paintings, fine details colliding with colorful esoteric patterns - like fall leaves, bright but subtle. Her art captured the nature and the outdoors she cherished. She felt at home in nature. She planted magic potatoes worthy of her Irish roots; wild tubers that spiraled out of the soil and begged to be eaten."

Curran loved making family, friends and the people around her happy. "She was always caring. Always about family, friends and making you feel like that moment...and the time you spent with her was the most important thing on earth as she followed your every word and every movement and responded with quick, thoughtful responses in her lyrical Irish prose that resonated like a beautiful song you wanted to listen to over and over," Mylrea said. "Time with Therese never got old. She was never boring. If you dared to spar or trade jokes—like a real 'chancer' she was well schooled in the art of fencing with words, but did it in a way where you laugh to tears even when she was reminding you that 'You're not as slow as you walk easy.'"

Her obituary also said, that "In the same way that time with time with T flew by, her passing was also too early. To all of us that loved and cherished her every moment, her passing feels unfair, absurd, cruel. In her passing, there feels to be a tremendous void in her silence. But in the same way we cherished her many favors and giving and love, now is the time to celebrate the life of Therese Curran by walking in her shoes, living life, bringing family and friends closer—'Bringing on the Craic (fun)' as she always did.

"As we celebrate her life, remember Therese Curran's star is still burning bright. Her song is still singing. Her words are with us. Her smile and eyes are sparkling. You will hear her spirit in the melancholy bagpipes at her upcoming celebration of life—she never wanted a funeral. You will hear her laughter the next time you repeat one of her many one-liners.

"Therese would want us to celebrate her life … turn your tears to laughter, fill the void and silence with joy and memories of good times. We can do that by living in her foot steps: give a little more, say a little less, listen a little closer, give to give, love a little more, laugh a little harder, put family and friends before everything. The life that she was and breathed and the joy she made us feel are the memories that will live forever, the star that will burn and we will all leave a better world behind before we join Therese in heaven."

Memorials for a project on Tiny Homes for the Homeless can be made here: AFC, c/o Jackie Thaney, 200 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606. Checks made out to AFC, with Pride Action Tank Therese Curran Fund in the memo line.

A celebration of life will be scheduled at a future date.

See photos here: photos.app.goo.gl/1G6MVYBPCwYp2fo72 .


This article shared 3549 times since Mon Jan 15, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+
2024-03-16
The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Dorothy Elizabeth McGroarty
2024-03-14
Dorothy Elizabeth McGroarty, 82, of The Breakers at Edgewater Beach, and a former resident of Andersonville, passed away Feb. 16 surrounded by her loving family. Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Dorothy was raised on Chicago's South and ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Bryan Dean Wilson
2024-03-14
Bryan Dean Wilson, 64, of Chicago, passed away March 11. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bryan graduated from Washington High school in Cedar Rapids before earning his B.S. in Biology from Mount Mercy University, also in ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood
2024-03-13
LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
2024-03-12
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community
2024-03-12
Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77
2024-03-12
On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner
2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Affinity Community Services' Latonya Maley announces departure
2024-03-06
Latonya Maley, executive director of Affinity Community Services, announced March 6 that she would be stepping down from her post. The announcement came from a statement with Affinity board members. Maley said that, "It has been ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries
2024-03-06
From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare
2024-03-05
Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
2024-03-04
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Charles R. Tobin
2024-03-03
Charles R. Tobin, 81, peacefully passed away on Dec. 23, 2023, in the company of his husband, after living with Lewey body dementia for several years. Charlie was born and raised in the Fernwood neighborhood on ...


Gay News

There she goes again: Author Alison Cochrun discusses writing journey
2024-02-27
By Carrie Maxwell When Alison Cochrun began writing her first queer romance novel in 2019, she had no idea it would change the course of her entire life. Cochrun, who spent 11 years as a high ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Trailblazing judge and attorney Patricia M. Logue passes away
2024-02-26
The Honorable Patricia Logue ("Pat" to her friends, Trish" to her family) was a brilliant lawyer, a trailblazing jurist and a hero to the LGBTQ community. Pat's legacy includes numerous landmark cases she litigated over her ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.