NJ Cops Oct18 | Page 71

Stories of His Life Telling the tales to remember Fair Lawn’s Eddie Egan It was at the PBA Convention in Las Vegas a few years back when Fair Lawn Local 67 State Delegate Eddie Egan instruct- ed then-recently retired Local President Dave Boone to meet him outside following a seminar. Boone complied, and was surprised to see a stretch limousine pull up in front of him. The limo brought them to a helicopter, which flew around the Hoover Dam before taking them to lunch. “I said how…why…did you do this?” Boone recalls. “I just wanted to say thank you for having been our presi- dent,” Egan replied. Stories of appreciative gestures like this are commonly shared about Egan, 51, who passed away on Sept. 10 due to complica- tions from thyroid cancer. Egan began his law enforcement career as a state corrections officer before joining Local 67 in 1999. “I was his training officer when he came on the department,” Boone notes. “I had some injuries rolling with some of the bad guys over the years. One day (Egan) had to literally carry me out of the doctor’s office – that permanently forged our friendship.” Egan lost his parents early in life and took on caring for his siblings, spending his off-duty time as an entrepreneur, per- forming snow removal in the winter and landscaping in the summer. “He looked like he had been in the Bahamas – that’s how tan he was,” quips Fair Lawn Local 67 President Louis Vasquez. “Ev- erything he did, he did for his family.” Egan served 27 years in Fair Lawn before his illness forced him to step back to lighter duty, though he frequently relayed that he was bored and constantly asked for more to do. He had been on the Bergen County Conference and served as Local 67’s State Delegate – a position Egan always won unanimously each re-election. “He had a great reputation,” Vasquez describes. “When I took over as Local president, I had some big shoes to fill. Eddie took me under his wing and helped me know who’s who; those sto- ries were always funny. Eddie knew everybody. Even at the PBA Conventions, he literally knew all these delegates. Someone told me he would volunteer on multiple committees and was always willing to give a hand and help.” Egan’s relentless volunteering also extended to Fair Lawn Fire Co. 2, which he joined at 18 and became a lifetime member. In 2015, he was honored for being part of a team of officers who rescued two women from a fire at a group home for people with mental illness and addiction. When they couldn’t find a ladder, officers used a wooden bed frame and garbage cans to reach a victim who was trapped on the second floor. Egan’s funeral turned out to be a story in itself: The heart- felt service was performed by Boone, a reverend who serves as chaplain to Fair Lawn’s police and fire departments. And the Police Pipes and Drums of Bergen County provided a somber soundtrack for mourners from many PBA Locals, as well as the multitude of community members who stood on the sidewalk to honor their hero. “At the very end (of the funeral), there was a beer truck and everyone stood around telling stories about him,” Vasquez re- lates. “I can’t tell you how many people came up to me and said, ‘If Eddie were here, he would have loved this.’” 70 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ OCTOBER 2018 In Memor iam Edward Egan Fair Lawn Local 67 Date of Passing: Sept. 10, 2018