2025 -- S 0218

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF GEORGE MARTELL

EGAN

     Introduced By: Senators Murray, and Thompson

     Date Introduced: February 10, 2025

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, It is with deep sadness that this Senate has learned of the passing of George

Martell Egan of Woonsocket. Born and raised in Woonsocket, George Martell Egan was the son

of the late George W. Egan and Louise Egan; and

     WHEREAS, George Martell Egan was a graduate of Mount Saint Charles Academy,

where he excelled at ice hockey. He went on to graduate from Dean Junior College, Rockford

College and Rhode Island College. At Dean College, Mr. Egan organized the school’s hockey

team, served as its first head coach, obtained uniforms from Lou Pieri, the famous former owner

of the Providence Reds Ice Hockey Team. Mr. Egan was also a photographer for the Dean

yearbook and newspaper; and

     WHEREAS, In 1959, Mr. Egan was drafted into the United States Army. He was

assigned to the Missile Technician School at the Redstone Arsenal, U.S. Space and Technical

Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and was later assigned to serve at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. In all of

his duties, Mr. Egan served our nation with honor and distinction; and

     WHEREAS, Upon returning home from his military obligations, Mr. Egan began his

long and distinguished public service career in education when he accepted a position to be a

teacher in Bellingham, Massachusetts. After obtaining a Master’s degree in Counseling from

Rhode Island College, Mr. Egan worked with distinction and tireless devotion as a guidance

counselor and school administrator at both Coventry Middle School and Coventry High School,

retiring as an Assistant Principal. Mr. Egan was noted for his assertive, commanding presence

and booming voice which allowed him to command the behavior of a bunch of loud teenagers in

an auditorium. He was also beloved for the kindness and compassion he brought with him to

school every day. He made a positive difference in the lives of countless youngsters; and

     WHEREAS, George Egan also had a long and successful career as an ice hockey coach,

at both Ponaganset and Coventry High Schools. He was twice named Hockey Coach of the Year

by the Rhode Island High School Coaches Association, and led Ponaganset to the 1983 Suburban

Division Championship and Coventry to the 1996 and 2003 Metropolitan-B Division

Championships. Mr. Egan also served as the Athletic Director of Coventry High School, was the

President of the Rhode Island Hockey Coaches Association from 1996 to 2004, and later served

as the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Director of Hockey; and

     WHEREAS, George Egan is a member of the Coventry High School Athletic Hall of

Fame, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame, and was the recipient of the Frank

Lanning Achievement Award from the Rhode Island sports news organization Words Unlimited;

and

     WHEREAS, As a youngster, Mr. Egan joined the Boy Scouts and spent every summer at

Camp Yawgoog. Passionate about the virtues of scouting, Mr. Egan devoted 25 years of his life

serving as an Adult Supervisor and Counselor for the Boy Scouts, serving on the camp’s staff,

and as the Medicine Bow Camp Director, where he was a beloved figure and earned the fond

nickname “the Great Pumpkin”. In recognition of the indelible mark Mr. Egan made in the hearts

and memories of so many Camp Yawgoog figures, when the camp launched its campaign to raise

funds for its 100th Anniversary, dozens of staff members joined together to raise $100,000,

marked by a commemorative monument at the camp’s central flagpole in honor of Mr. Egan’s

many years of dedication and service to Camp Yawgoog and the Boy Scouts; and

     WHEREAS, Mr. Egan leaves behind his siblings Joanne E. Shea, Andrea E. Didden, and

her husband, Albert, Reverend Thomas F. Egan, and Jay A. Egan, his nephews and nieces,

Christopher Shea, Angie Shea, Andrea Shea Cirbee, Stephen Cirbee, Daniel Shea, Deborah Shea,

Jason Didden, Amy Didden, Joanna Shea O’Brien, and Justin O’Brien. Mr. Egan also leaves

behind 17 grandnieces and grandnephews, and six great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews;

now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby expresses its deepest

condolences on the passing of George Martell Egan; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Joanne E. Shea, Andrea E. Didden, Reverend

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Thomas F. Egan, and Jay A. Egan.

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