Marion R. Egan

Marion R. Egan passed away peacefully on March 4, 2019, surrounded by her family at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.  She was born June 25, 1929, in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Marion graduated from Aquinas High School in 1946.  She graduated from the College of St. Katherine in 1951, with degrees in art, French, and education.  On November 17, 1951, she married her husband of 50 years Dr. Gregory J. Egan, Jr.

Marion dedicated herself to making her husband and her seven children happy and successful.  She gave tirelessly of herself to her family, friends, and community.  She was an optimist and always had a positive solution to problems brought to her.  She shared her passion for life, love, art, and family with everyone who knew her.

Marion was an accomplished and well known watercolor artist.  She deferred developing her career as an artist until her children were grown.  Her local paintings of La Crosse area landscapes, structures, and florals won many awards and now adorn the walls of many local homes and businesses.  Marion and Dr. Greg always looked forward to the annual AAUW Art Fair on the Green at UW-La Crosse where they sold her work and got reacquainted with old friends.  Marion enjoyed sharing her artistic talents with others by teaching watercolor painting classes to adults at the community center and other locations.

Marion’s artistic talents were not limited to painting.  She loved to sew and made much of her own clothing, curtains and costumes for her children.  She helped with homecoming floats and hospital bazaar fundraisers.  She made and donated arts and crafts to the hospital auxiliaries, Catholic schools, parish fundraisers, boy choir events, scouts, local libraries, and her church.

Marion loved the outdoors and outdoor sports.  She enjoyed swimming, golf, cross-country skiing, figure skating at the lagoon, hiking at the cabin, canoeing, and “bat ball”.  She taught her kids how to butcher ducks, pheasants, fish, and deer.

Marion volunteered her time delivering meals to others, singing in the Cathedral Church choir, and helping out at the hospital gift shops.  She always was ready with a kind word and a hot meal for any of her children’s friends who were hungry.

Marion is survived by her seven children, Gregory J. Egan, III (Dianne) of La Crosse, Kathleen A. Egan (Rodney Ferguson) of San Francisco, California, Suzanne Q. Egan of San Francisco, California, Leo R. Egan (Janet) of Indianola, Iowa, Jane Egan Staberg (Dan) of West Salem, Wisconsin, Richard J. Egan (Sally) of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and David M. Egan (Kimberly) of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin; her eleven grandchildren Gregory J. Egan IV, Mark Butterfield Egan, Julia A. Egan, Blake A. Egan, Alex Egan Ferguson, Nicole Ferguson, Sarah E. Egan, Bridget Egan Staberg, Andrew J. Egan, Rachel M. Egan, and Katherine A. Egan; and her four great-grandchildren Ainsley McLean Egan, Declan McLean Egan, Santiago Chinchilla Egan, and Addelyn Ferguson.  She was preceded in death by her parents Leo A. and Marion King Regnier, her sister Sue Luger, and her husband of 50 years Dr. Gregory J. Egan, Jr.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2019, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Blaschke & Schneider Funeral Home, 1501 West Avenue South, La Crosse, Wisconsin, with a Rosary to be held at 6:30.  Her funeral mass will be at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman, 530 Main Street, La Crosse, Wisconsin on Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. Msgr. Charles Stoetzel and Rev. Douglas Robertson will concelebrate with burial to be held in the Catholic Cemetery, La Crosse, Wis.  A second visitation will take place at 8:30 a.m. in advance of the funeral.

Condolences may be sent to the family in care of Jane Egan Staberg at N5152 Shady Birch Lane, West Salem, Wisconsin, 54669 or online at www.blaschkeschneider.com .

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to the La Crosse Society of Arts & Crafts, the Coulee Region Humane Society, Friends of the La Crosse Marsh, and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.