Jane Frances Cryan

Cryan, Jane Frances, native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, born in 1942, died on June 25, 2026, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Poet, memoirist, historic preservation activist, and piano player, Jane was the daughter of Marian S. Tilton and Matthew J. Cryan. She descends from four Oshkosh pioneers: Edward W. Tilton Sr., Nancy (Ellsworth) Tilton, Mark Ellsworth, and Eliza (Cheney) Ellsworth. She also descends from William Cheney, an American revolutionary.

Jane sends a fond farewell to her neighbors, especially the children with whom she so enjoyed talking, and to the sociable drivers and passengers she met while riding Oshkosh buses and taxicabs who shared many comical moments and life stories with her.

Prior to her return to Wisconsin in 2007, Jane lived for 44 years in San Francisco, California, where she was highly regarded for her work in saving that city’s 1906 refugee shacks.

Jane is survived by her son, Edward H.(Patricia) Dawes of Washington State; cousin, Tim Kneeland (Christy), and his daughters, Madeline and Makayla of Wisconsin.