Richard Dennis Egan

April 4, 1939 – November 27, 2024

Lambeau Field’s section 121, row 52, seat 1 lost its longtime partner Wednesday, November 27.  Richard Dennis (Dick) Egan, born April 4, 1939, died at Columbia St. Mary’s hospital in Milwaukee with his wife of 61 years (Annie) at his side, along with a cluster of grandchildren. Cause of death – living well for 85 years!

Dick’s keen intellect (he went to Yale and Harvard and served as an officer on the USS Hornet, as his sweatshirts and baseball caps would attest) never failed him.  But his body couldn’t keep pace.  In his last couple of years Dick, pushing around his walker, sort of resembled one of those WWII B-17 bombers, chuffing home across the English Channel looking like it had no business being in the air – fuselage blown open, wings shredded, black smoke belching.  But somehow staying aloft.  That was Dick, until his fuel tank hit E on Wednesday.  Dick was born in Evanston, IL to Charles Nickerson Egan and Margaret (Hubsch) Egan and was the oldest of 9 children.  The family moved to De Pere in the late 40’s when Dick’s father took over operation of a pulp mill on the Fox River and later, a paper mill on the Wolf River near Shawano.

Dick promptly dropped his childish allegiance to the Chicago Bears to become a passionate Packer fan and remain so for the rest of his days.  He was also a passionate fan of his wife, Annie, whom he met while they were both in high school.  The two married in 1963 while Dick was in the Navy.  After his discharge he worked for a number of years at newspapers in Spokane, Washington (birthplace of son Tim) and Duluth, Minnesota (birthplace of son Joe) before returning home in the later 60’s to join his dad’s business, Little Rapids Corp, in Green Bay (birthplace of son Dan).

Dick succeeded his father as president and CEO of Little Rapids in the mid 70’s and remained at the helm until the mid 90’s.  During this time he was active with many organizations relating to the paper industry, to education and to community service.  This included positions among others on the boards of Abbot Pennings High School, St Norbert College, the University of Wisconsin Board of Visitors for the UW Medical School, Wisconsin Public Radio and the Door County Community Foundation where he became immersed in the heart of and love for Door County.

In the mid 90’s Dick had had enough of the paper business and left to learn Spanish in Central and South America.  Ecuador became another deep interest and love of his life where he eventually established a charity focusing on physical rehabilitation therapies and building wheel chairs that could withstand the country’s mountainous terrain.

Dick also liked to have a good time.

He was a member of the original Windjammers Sailing club on the eastern shore of Green Bay, home to a ragtag fleet in the 70’s that floated on beer and bourbon as much as on water.  Dick would come home from work and change out of his business suit and into his bathing suit in seconds, superman-style.  Then he’d bound out the door saying over his shoulder in his best Thurston Howell lockjaw, mock-blue-blood accent, “If you need to reach me, I’ll be at The Yacht Club.”

Dick and Annie made Door County their permanent home in the late 90’s.  He sailed the Great Lakes far and wide and the Caribbean as well.  He skied pretty well.  He traveled extensively with many different groups and people, but his favored traveling partner was Annie.

Some of his favorite trips were the 4.6 mile ride from home over to Lambeau field, always leaving 15 minutes before game time and never missing a kickoff because he had his systems down cold – routes/parking/entrance gate – and no last minute traffic.  He had loads of stories from his days as an occasional ballboy for the team on it coastal swings while he was in college and later in the Navy.  One of the best was his mom watching an away game on tv from De Pere and busting him for smoking cigs on the field as he scraped mud from players cleats during a time out.

A few fun facts:

• Dick had a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth.
• He could kick a 50 year field goal – in wingtips.
• He and Annie had 15,000 shares in Packer stock due to their family ties to the team dating back to the 1920’s
• He relished promoting himself as frugal always saying at breakfast places you should only order one scrambled egg – because they’ll always give you two anyway.

But he was in fact, an exceedingly generous soul – in gifts, in actions and in his expressions of love, which his family will feel for a long, long time.

He is survived by his wife Annie, six of his eight siblings and their families (too many to name, but they know who they are)., four of Annie’s five siblings and their families, their sons and wives and their eight grandchildren, Tim (Jane) Ned and Sean, Joe (Penny) Erin and Carrie,  Dan (Alice) Sarah, Molly, John and Kate, as well as numerous other family members, again too many to name, but they also know who they are.

Dick was dedicated to the Door County Community Foundation, having spent many years on the board and ending his days as a director emeritus.  Donations in his memory may be made to the Foundation