Eleanor Hartigan

Eleanor Hartigan, 86, of Clear Lake, formerly of Fort Dodge, Iowa passed away Oct. 10, 2007 in Mason City, Iowa.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, Oct. 15, at Corpus Christi Church with the Rev. Edward Girres officiating. Burial of her cremains will be held in Corpus Christi Cemetery.
Eleanor is survived by her husband, Tom; two daughters, Patricia Sund (Chuck), of Grayslake, Ill. and Leigh Trembath (Stuart), of Clear Lake; four grandchildren, Erin Sund of Chicago, Ill., Brendan Sund of Huntington Beach, Calif., Lauren Trembath and Hannah Trembath of Clear Lake. She also is survived by her sister, Ruth French, of Oskaloosa, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, John Crumbaugh.
Eleanor Louise Crumbaugh was born on March 7, 1921 in Oskaloosa to Dr. Forrest L. Crumbaugh and Bessie Sollenberger Crumbaugh. She graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1939 and received a B.A. summa cum laude from William Penn College in 1943. She completed graduate work at Iowa State University, Drake University, the University of Northern Colorado and Montana State University.
Eleanor married Thomas Hartigan at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Oskaloosa, on Oct. 25, 1947. Eleanor’s teaching career began in Iowa at Jordan High School in 1943. She next taught at Lacey High School from 1944 to 1949, and
then Platteville High School in Colorado from 1949 to 1952.
The family moved back to Iowa and Eleanor took a leave of absence from teaching to stay home with her children. Once both daughters were in school, she returned to teach English and psychology at Fort Dodge Senior High School for 21 years, retiring in 1983.
Eleanor was a life member of the National Education Association, a former member of Webster County Retired Teachers, Catholic Daughters of America, member of Questers, book clubs, art club, Friends of Fort Dodge Public
Library, Trinity Regional Hospital Auxiliary, and Clear Lake Arts Center. In addition, she belonged to several bridge clubs and was involved in antiquing and genealogical research. She was a life-long learner with a passion for reading and the arts.
After having been a part of the Fort Dodge community for 48 years, the Hartigans moved to Clear Lake in 2002 to be closer to their granddaughters.
Despite her limited physical abilities and her short time in Clear Lake, she made numerous friends and became an avid armchair bird watcher. She was a long time member of Corpus Christi Church in Fort Dodge and most recently a
parishioner of St. Patrick’s Church in Clear Lake.
Eleanor was a dedicated teacher who always took a sincere interest and pride in her students’ accomplishments. She devoted her life to her family and students. She will be missed by her family and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Blanden Art Museum or to the Fort Dodge Public Library.
Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services was in charge of arrangements.