Eagan, Richard Henry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Richard “Dick” Henry Eagan, passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday, June 7, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital after a valiant battle with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was a larger than life personality and loved deeply by his family and friends.

Richard was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 18, 1941, son of Henry William and Miriam Gentel Eagan. He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Peter Eagan.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 39 years, Joyce Galida Eagan, his daughter, Kimberly Eagan Viani of Alexandria, Virginia, son Henry William Eagan (Jennifer) of Birmingham, Alabama; three sisters, Patricia Cluthe of Lawrence, Kansas; Suzanne Wynne and Mary Carol Eagan, both of Red Bank; brother Anthony Eagan (Alexandra) of Hudson, Ohio; and five grandchildren, Michael, Matthew, Natalie, Grace and Harper.

He attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank and Colgate University in Hamilton, New York where he was awarded a football scholarship, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

He had a 35-year retail career that culminated with his retirement in 1997 as Vice-President of Stores from Dillard’s Department Stores. Richard and Joy moved to Longboat Key, Florida in 1998, where in their free time they enjoyed the beach, boating, tennis and golf.

He was active in the community as a member of The Longboat Key Club and later The Sara Bay Country Club, where he organized a Friday golf group which also raised funds for the club’s golf training. He was also a member of the Sarasota Yacht Club.

An avid tennis player as a young man, his passion turned back to tennis when he purchased the Tennis Look store on St. Armands Circle in 1999 and joined the Longboat Key Tennis Center in 2000. He founded and managed a tennis group that grew to 70 strong and was nick named “The Dick Eagan Tennis Academy.” In 2008, the Tennis Center awarded him the Bernard Ditchik Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

Richard and Joy moved inland to Sarasota in March 2015 where they enjoyed spending more quiet times together with friends, which of course included political banter and watching football, basketball or tennis.

To celebrate his life a private family memorial service will be held in his honor. The family would like to thank the staff at Sarasota Memorial Hospital ICU for their compassion. In lieu of flowers, dona- tions may be made to Friends of Tennis, Longboat Key Tennis Center, 590 Bay Isles Parkway, Longboat Key, FL 34228 or to the COPD Foundation, www.copdfoundation.org/, 20 F Street NW, Suite 200A Washington, DC 20001.