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MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jul '91
James Carlisle Egan No. 15302 Class of 1946 Died
29 September 1975 in Denver, Colorado, aged 52years. Ashes were
scattered at Castle Rock, Colorado. |
James (Jim) C. Egan was born 2 September 1923 in Johnstown,
Ohio. Jim was the only son in a family of five children. His
father was the local banker. Jim became quite a celebrity during
his high school years as class president for four years, captain
of the football and basketball teams, and valedictorian of his
class at Johnstown-Monroe High School. He attended Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio for four semesters before gaining an appointment
to West Point He joined the Class of 1946 on 1 July 1943.
One of Jim's roommates recalls him as a handsome, alert,
reserved, extremely smart and capable individual. He wore stars
all three years without exertion. Always ready for fun and games,
he participated in cadet activities with good humor and ready
laughter. He accepted the system and generally operated within
its rules so he and the Tactical Department were never in serious
opposition. While an excellent athlete, his size kept him off
varsity squads, but he was a crunching fullback on the C-2 intramural
squad. Jim loved music and was always proud to have been in the
Cadet Glee Club. Bob Shoemaker recalls that Jim's sterling character
and flair for leadership were apparent from early days in Beast
Barracks. There was a genuine satisfaction among his C-2 classmates
when Jim was appointed company commander of C-2. Jim's
standing in Military Leadership and Proficiency was third in
the class and he graduated 16th in academic standing. Jim chose
the Infantry upon graduation.
After the Basic Infantry and Airborne Courses at Fort
Benning, Georgia, Jim was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion,
18th 1nfantry in Friedburg, Germany in 1947. His company commander
in 1948, now retired Colonel John Taylor, reported that Jim was
the finest platoon leader and executive officer he had known
in his service, which included the command of five companies.
In 1949, the 18th Infantry organized a heavy mortar company.
This new unit was staffed with the pick of the lieutenants of
the regiments. Jim was selected as its executive officer and
performed superlatively, as expected. In 1950, Jim was assigned
to Fort Bragg North Carolina with the 82nd Airborne Division.
In 1951, Jim decided to try his hand in the civilian world and
resigned from the Army.
Jim started his civilian career as a sales representative
with the Pure Oil Company in Columbus, Ohio. On 22 January 1955
Jim married Phyllis Ann Moench in Columbus. Jim rapidly progressed
to branch manager, district manager, division sales manager to
general manager of marketing services for the Pure Oil Division
of Union Oil in Palatine, Illinois. In 1966 he was made
general manager of Marketing Real Estate and in 1967 became manager
of Marketing Planning. The year 1968 saw Jim selected as the
director of Marketing for the Union 76 Division of Union Oil,
still in Palatine, Illinois. In 1970 Jim was selected as general
manager of Divisional Sales-Eastern Region of Union 76 Division.
While in this position, Jim restructured the field management
force and implemented new management systems and procedures.
At this point in his career, Jim decided that he wanted to take
on more responsibility and have more control of his life. He
left Union Oil and became president of Canadian Propane Gas and
Oil, Thunderbird Petroleums, Inc. and chairman of the board for
Gasbec, Inc., all with head offices in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
He also became a director of the Propane Gas Association of Canada.
While Jim's business interests were in Canada, he and Phyllis
and their three sons lived on a ranch outside Calgary for three
years, moving to their ranch in Castle Rock, Colorado in 1975
when Jim learned he had cancer.
When his condition became terminal, Jim planned his
funeral and prepared a message to be printed in the program.
His message tells a lot about Jim and his beliefs. Excerpts follow:
A LIVING MESSAGE TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS....
"It came as a real surprise to me, and I'm sure to my family,
when on September 9, I was told I had a 'terminal' condition,
but such events are with benefit as well as with handicap.
"First off, I am not a truly deeply religious man, but I
do have strong convictions that there is a universal power that
guides our lives individually and collectively. There is some
bigger and better good operating in our lives directing men to
live nobly and happily together.
"Phyllis and I have had many heart-wrenching moments of
sadness from the knowledge that our life together is being cut
short. We hope to try to see as many of the principles and ideals
we believe so strongly in are provided for the balance of her
life and that of the boys, so that we can in some larger and
silent way enjoy those goals and efforts toward which we were
working. We want to live and look happily ahead----not grieve
about the hand of fate that may apparently have been dealt our
way....
[signed] Jim.
27 September 1975
Presbyterian Medical Center
Jim died 29 September 1975. He was survived by his widow,
Phyllis; three sons, Jeffrey, Richard, and Timothy; and four
sisters, Kathleen, Marjorie, Lila, and Diane. As Jim wished,
his ashes were scattered from a high point on their ranch in
Castle Rock by Phyllis and their three sons. Jim would
have been terribly proud of the success of his sons: Jeff is
an attorney-at-law in San Jose, California; Dick, with an international
MBA, is a business analyst in Boulder, Colorado; and Tim is an
engineer in Monterey, California.
Jim was proud of being a West Pointer. He believed in
the values for which it stands and was dedicated to those values.
He carried them into his civilian career and was greatly admired
by his peers and superiors for his application of them in his
professional life. His family, classmates and friends will always
miss James Carlisle Egan but will cherish his memory forever.
At Christmas 1975, just three months after Jim's death, his son
Jeff wrote a poem that is a fitting eulogy to a loving husband
and caring father.
THE NEW
WAVE
By Jeff Egan
"We sat on top of the world
riding the waves made by a great
man,
living as few did and wasting as
none should,
things too precious to be bought.
"Our only problems grown from
worthless seeds,
as we spent our lives together,
developing ourselves as individuals
and ignoring ourselves as part of
each other.
"Now the wave has subsided and
the great
man who produced it is gone.
And as we the individuals mourn,
we must strive to discover what it
was
that we blindly passed by,
so that we may inherit the legacy left
to us.
To add to this tribute by his son, his classmates can unanimously
say of Jim Egan, "Well Done, Be Thou At Peace."
'46 Memorial Article and his wife, Phyllis
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