Bob Egan

1959 - 2021

Bob Egan
October 6, 1959 - December 19, 2021
Austin, Texas - It is with deep sadness to announce Bob Egan passed away on December 19, 2021 in Austin, TX.
While Bob was born (October 6, 1959) and raised in the industrial south suburbs of Chicago by his parents Joe and Sally Egan, he learned about the great outdoors and especially the American West through annual family vacations around the country. Bob graduated with a forest biology degree from Colorado State University in 1981. He worked interesting summer jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Rocky Mountain National Park, US Forest Service in Arizona, and Weyerhaeuser in Washington state during his college years.
Bob's life-long passion for organizing and leading outdoor adventures probably began when he and his brothers, Joe and Rich, backpacked in Rocky Mountain National Park, the San Juan mountains in southwest Colorado, and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area during those college years.
After graduation, Bob worked for Weyerhaeuser as a forest engineer for two years in Broken Bow, OK. Then Bob's life took a significant turn when he was accepted into the Harvard Business School MBA program. In his first year at Harvard, Bob developed life-long friendships with many of his section-mates who would later become his co-adventurers in travels around the world. Earning an MBA in 1985, Bob began a 28 year career with Boise Cascade paper company. But before starting at Boise Cascade, Bob and friends spent the summer cycling over 2500 miles across Canada from Vancouver to Novia Scotia. This bike ride would become the template for future around the world (in contiguous segments) long-distance rides across the entirety of Europe, central Asia and Australia. After cycling around the world, Bob identified his favorite location for a second home, Adelaide Australia. Bob maintained that second home for over a decade.
At Boise Cascade (and successor companies), Bob worked his way through field operations, finance, and information technology positions, eventually becoming vice-president and chief information officer of the company.
Bob's interests and energy went far beyond the paper/lumber industry. He designed two houses (in Boise and Adelaide). He volunteered as an Ada County deputy sheriff for over 10 years. Bob's deputy sheriff role expanded from assisting with traffic control at large events to eventually including regular patrols, though his favorite was patrolling his beloved hike/bike trails in the foothills around Boise. Bob was one of the few volunteers at the Ada County Sheriff's Office to reach patrol status. The mayor of Eagle, ID recognized Bob for biking over 5000 miles, taking patrol calls, and talking to young people about bike and outdoor safety.
Bob's overriding passion was taking outdoor adventures with his friends in unique places including Mali, Ukraine, Ecuador's highest mountains, the Australian outback, India, Columbia, Alaska, Brazil, the American West, Bhutan, and literally every major city around the world. The number of 14,000+ peaks he climbed is too numerous to list. His highest peak was 20,000+. Bob honed his photography and local art collecting hobbies and developed deeper friendships during these trips. Bob collected thousands of books, many about travel but many more regarding the rich variety of life. Bob also loved becoming immersed in cooking and sampling the local food wherever he was. For all his activity, Bob was also quite content with a good puzzle on a quiet evening.
Bob loved big events and spectacles. He volunteered at the Olympics and the Special Olympics in both Korea and Brazil. Only Covid lockdowns prevented him from working at the Japan Olympics where the Belgium Olympic Committee had requested him for a repeat performance as the team's special liaison volunteer. Bob also volunteered multiple years at the Tour de France and many years for the Tour Down Under in Adelaide. He attended other Olympics and was a repeat attendee at every tennis grand slam location. He also attended many other golf, car racing, basketball, and football championships. Bob ran the New York marathon four times and organized yearly cycle trips in Boise. Perhaps his favorite part of the events was planning and arranging for friends and family from around the world to attend those events with him. After hosting an eclipse party in 2017, he was already planning a 2024 eclipse party in Texas. He also greatly enjoyed hosting friend and work parties at his Boise home. Bob liked to provide his companions shirts commemorating an event he organized – his "bike with friends, stop for snacks" shirts were favorites.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents and his three beloved and loyal yellow Labradors: Jayke, Sam and Alex. Bob is survived by his two brothers and their spouses (Rich and Shannon, Austin, TX and Joe and Felicia, Naperville, IL), four nephews (Miller, Mark, Andrew and Garrett), and many friends. Bob's friends were as varied and diverse as Bob's interests, including many long-time friends: Monica Cockerille, Dave Clopton, Jim Feinson, Kath Giel, Bron and Jeremy Gray, Colin and Yerevag Greenstreet, Jim and Sue Mayer, Jon and Cindy McDaniel, Mel McLenna, Rob McNutt, Jessie and Hollie Miller, Mark and Stacy Pearson, Jeremy Pearson, Brock Veidenheimer, and Peter Wallis. Many thanks to Bob's friends who traveled with him and made those world-wide journeys so special.
Contributions in Bob's name can be made to Doctors Without Borders. A memorial will be held in Boise, Idaho at a later date, likely in the Spring. For those that know Bob you will appreciate our last request: please sit outside at your favorite café or restaurant and enjoy the sunshine, your favorite beverage, and good friends.
Arrangements by Weed Corley Fish Lake Travis - (512) 263-1511.