OBITUARY | Richard Henry Eagan

Richard “Dick” Henry Eagan, 74, of Sarasota and formerly of Longboat Key, died June 7.

Born July 18, 1941, in Philadelphia, he was the son of Henry William and Miriam Gentel Eagan.

He attended Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank, N.J., and Colgate University, in Hamilton, N.Y., 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. He and his wife, Joy, moved to Longboat Key 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 Public Tennis Center in 2000. He founded and managed a tennis group that grew to 70 strong and was nicknamed “The Dick Eagan Tennis Academy.” In 2008, the tennis center awarded him the Bernard Ditchik Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

He 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.

He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Peter Eagan. He is survived by his beloved wife of 39 years, Joyce Galida Eagan; daughter, Kimberly Eagan Viani, of Alexandria, Va.; son, Henry Eagan, and his wife, Jennifer, of Birmingham, Ala.; three sisters, Patricia Cluthe, of Lawrence, Kan., and Suzanne Wynne and Mary Carol Eagan, both of Red Bank, N.J.; brother, Anthony Eagan, and his wife, Alexandra, of Hudson, Ohio; and five grandchildren.

A private family memorial service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of Tennis, Longboat Key Public Tennis Center, 590 Bay Isles Parkway, Longboat Key, FL 34228, or to the COPD Foundation, copdfoundation.org or 20 F Street NW, Suite 200 A, Washington, DC 20001.