‘Woman of the Year’ known for local efforts
|
|
Follow The Republic:
The Republic file photo
Woman of the Year, Carolyn Curry stands in the backyard of her Columbus home.
Carolyn Curry, a longtime community activist who was recognized in 2007 as The Republic’s Woman of the Year, died Tuesday at the Hospice of South Central Indiana Inpatient facility. She was 74.
Services are pending at Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home.
Curry, who was particularly notable for her partnership with her husband — former Superior Court Judge Norm Curry — in portraying Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus at numerous community events, was diagnosed earlier in the year with cancer.
Curry was selected for The Republic’s Woman of the Year honor — a recognition dating back to 1981 of the outstanding achievements of women in the Columbus area — for a variety of causes she became associated with over the years and for her hands-on approach to volunteer roles.
One of her proudest achievements was born of tragedy, the death of her 24-year-old son Tim in a 1984 motorcycle accident while he was on active duty in the U.S. Army.
Through what she described as “a gut-wrenching ordeal,” Curry took a lesson from her own bereavement and became one of the co-founders of Wings for the Journey, a support group aimed at helping parents and loved ones who have lost a child.
She also took her personal approach of involvement into a 27-year career as a Hospice of South Central Indiana volunteer. A hospice official said in 2007 that Curry had “helped more than 100 people die peacefully.”
Curry said her hospice role was not a burden but a blessing.
“You go in to help these people and they are thanking you, but I was the lucky woman to have the opportunity to come into their lives at such a difficult time,” she said in a 2007 interview. “They (the patients) have taught me how precious life is and that we should live our lives one day at a time.”
When it came to the fun parts of helping others, Curry delighted in partnering with husband Norm in portraying Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus for more than 18 years.
The two visited nursing homes, hospitals and day care centers each Christmas season.
“It was so much fun,” she said in 2007. “Some of the children we saw were so needy. It was such a gift to us to be able to tell them how special they were.”
Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!