John Bernard Egan

John Bernard Egan, age 93, of Longville, MN passed away on Friday, August 16, 2024, at the Veteran’s Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona. His beloved nephew, Don Whitlow, was by his side, whom he had been living with since September of 2023. John was born on October 14, 1930, in Peoria, Illinois.  He was one of 13 children of parents Grant and Mary Egan.

After high school, John enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 17. He was taking a short cut through the post office when a recruiter said “Semper Fidelis”, he thought he heard “Send me five dollars” and joined that day in 1947. He served for 21 years and fought in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. On October 5th, 1966, he was involved in a fierce battle, where he suffered major injuries, and was the lone survivor of his platoon. He later was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with combat V. He was honorably discharged in rank of Captain in1969. After the military, John worked for the 3M company for nearly ten years.

Beverly Egan became his wife on April 24,1965 while serving in the military. She was also in the armed forces, as an officer in the Navy for nearly 20 years.They had over 50 happy years together and cherished their lake home at Pikie Point Lane in Longville, Minnesota. Captain John outranked Beverly, but she ruled the household, and did so with a passion and sense of humor. She passed in June 2016, but John remained in their comfortable lake home.

John was a devoted Catholic and attended mass most every Sunday. He had an infectious smile that touched everyone who met him. He had many friends in Longville, and enjoyed eating at the Turtle Town Café, and the Anchorage Inn. John loved to hunt and fish and had many stories to tell. He loved his relatives in Peoria, Illinois. Since 2016, he spent nearly every birthday at the “farm”, and most Easter’s as well, thanks to his devoted nephew, Don who drove him there.

John is survived by his brother, Jimmy Egan of Illinois; sister-in-law, Jeanne Horning of Minnesota; nephew, Don Whitlow of Arizona; along with numerous cherished nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many special friends.

Mass of Christian Burial for John will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 23 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hackensack, MN. Visitation will be held for one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Little Falls, MN. He will be buried beside his wife Beverly.

John’s care has been entrusted to Northern Peace Funeral Home of Walker, MN. Online condolences for the family may be left at www.northernpeace.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Bernard Egan, please visit our floral store.