Born ‎1 Feb 1920 Bangor, Pope County, Minnesota, died ‎2 Jul 2017 West St. Paul, Dakota County, Minnesota‎, age 97 years
Hilary and Shirley were married at St Thomas church in Minneapolis, MN.


Hilary "Duke" Egan, age 97 of West St. Paul, died on July 2, 2017 due to complications from a broken hip. Though his body was failing, he never lost his keen sense of humor. Hilary Orlin Egan was born on February 1, 1920 to John and Anna (Fontaine) Egan in Bangor Township, Pope County, Minnesota. He was of Irish and Alaskan Native ancestry. He was raised on the family farm near Sauk Centre, the twelfth of thirteen children. Hilary joined the National Guard at age 15, and was activated into the US Army before the Pearl Harbor attack. He was stationed in North Carolina, California and Hawaii. He was honorably discharged from the Army after WWII with the rank of First Lieutenant. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1949. On June 17, 1950, Hilary married Shirley Brownell in Minneapolis.

Hilary worked for the State of Minnesota for 33 years, primarily as an accountant. He participated in the ground breaking ceremony for Southwest Minnesota State College (now University) in 1965, as the Business Manager. Hilary lived in Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Paul and then Marshall for 27 years before retiring to Florida in 1992. Hilary had many hobbies including beekeeping, wine making, raising rabbits, gardening, biking, weaving baskets, building cedar strip canoes and woodworking. He built a Grandfather Clock for each of his five children and a few other fortunate folks. He had a sharp mind and enjoyed games like Bridge, Cribbage, Yahtzee and puzzles. Hilary and Shirley enjoyed searching the beaches in Florida for shells. During the hot Florida summers, they camped at Pleasant Point in Madison Lake, MN. Hilary and Shirley traveled to England, Ireland and Alaska. In his later years Hilary excelled at cooking. They moved back to Minnesota in 2008 to be near their children.
Hilary is survived by his wife of 67 years Shirley Egan of West St. Paul, daughter Teresa Egan of Oakdale, and her daughter Melissa Montgomery (Chris Lee) and great-grandson Derrick Montgomery, Jr of Maplewood, son Peter and his wife Carol of Mendota Heights and their children Ellie Egan of Duluth, and Kevin Egan of Sejong, South Korea, son Tom and his wife Betty of Fairmont, and their children Liz Egan of Olympia, WA and John and his wife Rachel and great-grandson Olin of Blaine, daughter Mary and her husband Robert Kittleson of Ceylon, and their children Jaci and Alan Sinnett of Lincoln NE, Carter Kittleson of Sacramento, CA and Nolan Kittleson and his fiancée Beth McDonald of Ceylon, and son Patrick Egan of Minnetonka, his brother-in-law Robert Zink of West Lafayette, IN, nieces, nephews and extended relatives.

Hilary was preceded in death by his parents, two infant brothers, Philip and James, adult brothers Edmund (Eleanor), Francis (Ruth), John " Butch" (Elaine) and by sisters Bea (John) Cox, Anne (Carl) Doughty, Sarah (Art) Mertz, Helen (George) Aldrich, Rita Kleinman (Robert Hill), Katie (Charles Karkalitz) Fontaine, Dorothy "Dot" Egan and sister-in-law Gloria (Brownell) Zink.

A family memorial service will be held at a later date. Hilary will be interred with full military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Born ‎2 Jan 1930 Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, died ‎22 Jan 2019 West St. Paul, Dakota County, Minnesota‎, age 89 years
Shirley Egan, age 89, of Walker Westwood Ridge in West St.Paul, died January 22, 2019, following a stroke. Shirley Louise Brownell was born on January 2, 1930, in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Jay William and Ida Lydia (Ortman) Brownell. Shirley was only 12 years old when their mother died. Her father died five months before Shirley graduated from Minneapolis Central High in June of 1947. Shirley worked as a bank teller until her marriage to Hilary Orlin Egan on June 17, 1950. They lived in the Minneapolis area until moving with her growing family to Rochester in the mid 1950s, to St. Paul in the late 1950's, and to Marshall in 1965. In September of 1967, Shirley joined the Charter Class of the new Southwest Minnesota State College (now Southwest Minnesota State University). In June of 1971, she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and taught as an elementary teacher for a year. Shirley was then hired by SMSC in 1972 as a paraprofessional in the Education Lab where she worked for the next ten years. In 1982, she transferred to the Business Office as an account clerk where she worked until her retirement in 1989. Her hobbies included gardening, traveling and genealogy. She and Hilary were Florida snowbirds for several winters. In 1992, they moved to Clearwater, FL and later to Oldsmar, FL. They relocated to West St. Paul in 2009 to be closer to family. In recent years, Shirley enjoyed puzzles, books on tape, computer games, Skype chats and catching Jeopardy. Although her hearing and vision were failing, she kept her marbles and her sense of humor.

Shirley was widowed in July of 2017 from Hilary Egan, her loving husband of 67 years. They have five children: daughter Teresa Egan of Oakdale, her daughter Melissa Montgomery and great-grandson Derrick Montgomery, Jr of Oakdale; son Peter and his wife Carol Egan of Mendota Heights, their children Ellie Egan of Minneapolis and Kevin Egan of Sejong, South Korea; son Tom and his wife Betty of Fairmont, their children Elizabeth Egan of Shelton, WA and John and his wife Rachel Egan and great-grandson Olin of Blaine; daughter Mary and her husband Robert Kittleson of Ceylon, their children Jaci and her husband Alan Sinnett and great-grandchild due in April of Lincoln NE, Carter Kittleson of Sacramento, CA and Nolan and his wife Beth Kittleson of Ceylon; son Patrick Egan of Minnetonka.

Her sister Gloria Mae died in 2012, Shirley is also survived by Gloria's husband Robert Zink of West Lafayette, IN, and their sons Dave (Karen), Rich (Ginny), and Bill (Bonnie) Zink. Shirley was also the last remaining aunt of a large generation of Egan nieces and nephews, outliving Hilary's twelve siblings and their spouses.
A joint memorial service for Shirley and Hilary, and interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery are pending.