Federal Judge Curran dies at 88

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Wisconsin’s judicial community lost one of its lights this week.

Senior federal district court Judge Thomas Curran died Tuesday, according to an obituary published by Crandall Funeral Home in Mauston. He was 88.

Curran, a World War II naval veteran, graduated from Marquette Law School in 1948 and spent the next 35 years in private practice in his hometown of Mauston, according to the obituary. He served on the Wisconsin State Bar’s Board of Governors and then as its president.

In 1983, President Reagan appointed Curran judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, according to the obituary. He ascended the bench with unanimous Senate approval.

Curran went on to preside over hundreds of cases, including disputes over school desegregation in Milwaukee, Senate and Assembly redistricting and the constitutional challenge to provide money to the Milwaukee Brewers, according to the obituary.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday July 23 at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Mauston. Friends are invited to call at the church from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, and from 10 a.m. until the service begins Monday.

The family asks that memorials be given to St. Patrick Church or School, 401 Mansion St., Mauston, WI 53948; or Marquette University Law School, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201.