John Patrick Eagan

John Patrick Eagan, who embodied the power of seizing second chances, slipped peacefully away on March 1, 2026, at MyMichigan Medical Center in Alpena, a blazing sunset burning out as he gently drew his last breath.

Born April 3, 1944, in Columbus, Ohio, to Edward Walter Eagan and Grayce Marion Eagan (Keller), John grew up in Lakewood, Ohio. An only child known as “Chip” (a “chip off the old block”), he especially adored his father, who brought home a dachshund named Frank after noticing his son’s love of dogs. That began a lifelong devotion to animals, John owning 15 dogs over the years, mostly English bulldogs and English springer spaniels. He was never happier than in their company.

Loss came early. His father died of ALS when John was 10, and his mother soon entered long-term hospitalization. Essentially an orphan, John lived with his grandmother, Alice Thurston Keller, in Sturgis, Michigan, before attending Catholic boarding school in Indiana, where memorizing Latin grammar texts sparked a lifelong love of languages.

A brilliant student who taught himself Italian to read Dante untranslated, John began at Xavier University before transferring to Western Michigan University to study political science and medieval studies. Working as a janitor to pay tuition, he was doing Greek homework on a classroom blackboard in January 1965 when Ellen Alexander Runkel walked in wearing bright red boots. Conversation led to love.

Married August 26, 1967, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Alpena, John and Ellen began their life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he studied at the Episcopal Theological School and Harvard before leaving seminary for college publishing with Little Brown, Prentice Hall, and Holt. They later moved to Columbus, Ohio, where their son Joshua was born, and then to Ann Arbor, where their daughter Mary was born the day before the Michigan-Ohio State game. Season ticket holders for 52 years, John used Ellen’s ticket that year to take a friend to the game while Ellen and newborn Mary watched from the hospital.

In 1980, the family returned to Alpena. John opened the State Street Bakery, expressing love through fresh-baked bread and doughnuts — especially chocolate-frosted cake doughnuts with rainbow sprinkles for his daughter’s sleepovers.

At 40, John found sobriety and became the man he was meant to be. Closing the bakery, he trained as a substance abuse counselor with Catholic Human Services and later earned a Master of Social Work through summer sessions at Catholic University of America. Specializing in gerontology, he spent nearly 30 years in behavioral health at MyMichigan Medical Center – Alpena, providing therapy, supervising social work students, overseeing discharge planning, serving on the institutional review board, and helping found and chair the hospital’s ethics committee. With Dr. Avery Aten, he educated the community about advance directives so people could take control of their health in the end by making their wishes known. Being of service was his life’s work.

A devoted scholar of Shakespeare, John researched each play before traveling with Ellen to Canada’s Stratford Festival. He read voraciously — from mystery novels and James Thurber to Greek comedies and tragedies in the original language. He retained his fluency in Latin, reading texts in the language up until the last year of his life, and tutored his daughter when she took Latin in college, lamenting her pronunciation of the “dead” language.

Active in politics while living in Ann Arbor, he served as campaign manager for Al Wheeler, the city’s first Black mayor, and worked on the campaigns of Democratic Congressional candidates.

In retirement, John and Ellen traveled widely, especially on Viking cruises through Europe, sending their children hilariously dueling texts about their adventures. He loved Gilbert & Sullivan, Motown, the blues, and went through a memorable Latin jazz phase that nearly drove Ellen crazy.

John is survived by the woman to whom he brought breakfast in bed every morning until he began his decline, Ellen Runkel Eagan, his wife of nearly 59 years; his children, Joshua (Julie) and Mary; his grandson, Max; and his beloved springer spaniel, Snug.

In John’s memory, give your dog an extra treat. If you’re in recovery, attend a meeting. Help someone who’s struggling. Be generous of heart and pocket. Have that second scoop of ice cream. Tell an inappropriate joke. Read a book. Root for the maize and blue. And remember it’s never too late to become the person you’re meant to be.

A memorial service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Alpena on Saturday, March 21 at 11:00 a.m., with a luncheon to follow. Cremation arrangements are being handled by the Bannan Funeral Home. Memorials: Huron Humane Society and Trinity Episcopal Church’s Sunday Supper Food Program.