Lois and Leo Egan¶
Ancestors of Leo Francis Egan¶
Paternal Ancestors¶
Maternal Ancestors¶
Parents and Siblings of Leo Francis Egan¶
William Anthony Egan, son of Michael George Egan and Mary Jane Garvey, was born on 20 Feb 1893 in Savage, Scott, Minnesota and died on 25 Aug 1967 in Hennepin County, Minnesota at age 74.
William married Margaret A. Fitzpatrick, daughter of Hugh James Fitzpatrick and Mary Ann Campion, on 6 Apr 1920 in Savage, Minnesota. Margaret was born on 3 Jul 1888 in Jordan, Scott, Minnesota and died on 13 Aug 1977 in Ramsey County, Minnesota at age 89.
Children from this marriage were:
Mary Egan was born on 17 Nov 1921 in Savage, Scott County, Minnesota, died on 15 Nov 2017 in Ramsey County, Minnesota at age 95, and was buried in 2017 in Roselawn Cemetery, Roseville, Ramsey, Minnesota.
Mary married Raymond Paul Kapaun, son of Frank and Marie Kapaun on June 6, 1942 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Raymond was born on 29 Mar 1919 in St. Paul, Minnesota, died on 17 Jan 1985 in Niceville, Okaloosa, Florida at age 65, and was buried in 1985 in Roselawn Cemetery, Roseville, Ramsey, Minnesota.
Leo Francis Egan was born on 16 May 1925 in Savage, Minnesota and died on 22 Apr 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at age 55.
Leo married Lois Ann Code, daughter of Milton Edward Code and Edna Louise Potts, on 17 Apr 1948 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lois was born on 14 Dec 1928 in Lisbon North Dakota.
The Egans of Savage, Minnesota¶
The Egan Family house in Glendale (Savage): This 1896 photo shows Michael George Egan, wife Mary Jane Garvey Egan, and children - Jane, May, William, Margaret, Edward and George. The farm was located at what is now Egan Drive and Joppa Avenue.
Properties of Michael and Matthew Egan are located in section 28 on the map.
The following text is from SW News Media: SOURCE
After researching, I could not find a complete or published account of the Egan family history, which is a shame because the Egans of Savage have a rich history as Irish Catholic pioneers, farmers, commissioners and mayors.
Sources from the Heritage Room at the Savage Library differ on exact dates, but Michael’s appearance in Savage was in the early 1860s, as he was well homesteaded by 1880.
Like many Irish immigrants, the Egan brothers escaped the potato famine, looking for a better life and farmland. Don Egan, the former Savage mayor and Michael’s grand nephew, states that Michael and his brother Matthew (Don’s dad) hailed from County Mayo, Ireland.
After arriving in Stillwater, the family story goes that one summer day they started walking west and when they reached the Credit River in Glendale Township, it was green and beautiful with rich black soil just like their beloved Eire. They had found their new home and farm in a country eager to get the new state of Minnesota settled.
Ray Egan, Michael’s grandson (and Savage resident), thinks the farm house was built around 1865.
A Pacer "Remember When" picture states “the four bedroom frame home was built by Michael George Egan in the 1875-1880 era. Perhaps Michael had a log home in the early 1860s, and his farmstead began construction in 1875. The 1880 plot plan lists both Michael’s and Matthew’s plots tucked between the Murphys' and Hanrehans' on the south, and Loftus plots to the north.
Interesting side note, when Matthew got his citizenship papers in 1873, the family name had been misspelled, changed from Eagen to Egan. Sounding no less Irish, the error was not contested.
The Eagen/Egan family are one of the pioneer families of not only Savage, but of the infant state of Minnesota. They have a rich history which needs to be more completely written and can be discovered at the Savage Public Library.
I would like to challenge one of the many Egans within reach of the Pacer to begin to document your impressive past and leave a copy for the Heritage Room.
— Jim Ross, Dan Patch Historical Society
Leo Francis Egan¶
Leo Francis Egan was born in Savage, Minnesota on May 16, 1925, to William and Margaret (Fitzpatrick) Egan.
Leo’s great grandfather Michael Egan came to the United States in 1847 or 1848 from County Mayo, Ireland and settled in Minnesota around 1852. The Egan’s were primarily farmers and settled in the Savage area.
Leo’s other great grandfather John Fitzpatrick emigrated with his wife Mary and son Michael to the United States in 1853 from County Wexford, New Town Barry, Ireland. They lived in Cleveland, Ohio, then in Wisconsin before moving to Jordan, Minnesota in 1900. The Fitzpatrick’s were primarily teachers and merchants.
Leo’s family lived in Prior Lake until about 1931 then moved to St. Paul. Between 1931 and 1967 his family lived on Mukubin then Carroll Avenues in St. Paul. Leo grew up in a very Catholic family and attended Cretin High School in St. Paul. He paid his own way through high school and graduated June 1, 1943.
After high school he worked various jobs and went to the University of Minnesota before being drafted into the Navy. He served on the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) which was an aircraft carrier built during World War II. He was present in Tokyo Bay as a member of the Occupation Force during the Surrender of the Japanese to the Allied Powers in 1945.
After the war he worked for the federal government in various positions and moved up to Chief, Operations Division in the Data Processing Center, Veterans Administration at Fort Snelling.
Leo in his office at the Veteran’s Administration
Leo’s father William died of cancer August 25, 1967 and his mother Margaret died August 13, 1977.
In 1980 Leo was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He attended his retirement party on April 6 and died later that month on April 22, 1981.
Lois Ann (Code) Egan¶
Lois Ann (Code) Egan was the youngest child born to Milton and Edna Code. She was born in Lisbon, North Dakota on December 14, 1928. Lois Ann was the baby of the family and frequently talked about how spoiled she was compared to her siblings. She loved tap dance and frequently performed for her family.
Lois grew up in Lisbon and was a cheerleader for her high school. She graduated from Lisbon High School in 1946 and shortly after graduation moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where she stayed with her married sister and husband, Marge and Arnold Johnson. Several of the Code sisters had previously chosen to move to Minneapolis or St. Paul to work or attend school. While living with Arnie and Marge, Lois had a part time job at Montgomery Ward which was within walking distance from their home. Arnie had always wanted to run a restaurant and when the “Fountain Inn” in Lisbon came up for sale, he purchased it and he and Marge returned to Lisbon. Arnie’s sister Helen and her husband, Tony Engst offered Lois a room to share with their daughter, Janice. Helen helped Lois find a full-time job at Glendenning Motorways in St. Paul.
Glendenning Motorways was a trucking company founded in 1924 by husband-and-wife team W. Gordon and Louise Glendenning. The company started hauling commodities around Minneapolis-St. Paul and Roseville, Minnesota then quickly expanded nationally. After several acquisitions and owners, the company eventually declared bankruptcy in 1983 citing deregulation and increased competition as the reasons it shut down operations.
Lois Code 1947
While she had been living with Marge and Arnie, Lois had her eye on a tall, young man who lived next door. One day she saw him in the yard and, while chatting with her, he asked if he could come over and talk. She said “yes” and he proceeded to jump over the hedge - not realizing there was a fence along the hedge. Leo Egan’s attempt to formally meet his future bride was not as graceful as he had planned. They courted for a while then married in St. Paul on April 17, 1948.
Leo and Lois (Code) Egan¶
Wedding Photograph April 17, 1948
Susan, Patty, Linda and Mike Egan circa 1956 (Diane and Steven not pictured)
In 1965 they moved to a house on Elliot Avenue in Minneapolis where they finished raising their kids along with a dog, a Welsh Corgi, named Charmin.
In 1962, Lois Ann’s parents were killed in a car accident in Wyoming while on a trip to California.
Lois devoted her time to raising her family until the early 70s when she went back to work at a Sears on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Leo and Lois celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary in 1972 while living at their home on Elliot Avenue in Minneapolis.
Lois and Leo continued to live in the Elliot Avenue house where Leo died in 1981. He was buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Several years after Leo’s death, Lois moved from the house on Elliot to a condominium in Bloomington. She lived there until fall of 2017 when she moved to a Senior Living Center also in Bloomington.
Lois has a very engaging and enjoyable presence and loves spending time with family and friends. Over the years she has been the Code family’s most conscientious and consistent communicator - maintaining contact with siblings and many nephews and nieces.
Photos¶
Lois Code
Parents of Lois and Leo Egan: Milton Code, Margaret (Fitzpatrick) Egan, Edna (Potts) Code and William Egan
Lois and Leo Egan
Leo and Lois Code Egan and Marjorie Code Johnson and Arnie Johnson
Leo and Lois
Lois and Leo Egan at Centennial Celebration in Lisbon, North Dakota 1980