Richard Boyce Eager

Richard Boyce Eager passed away in his home at the age of 94, on November 22, 2016. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois on May 8, 1922. He grew up in Evansville, WI, the second eldest son of Leonard Prentice Eager and Eloise Susan Seavert Eager. His father was a banker and his mother was at home. His interests, as a child, included stamp collection, football, tennis, and reading.

He graduated from Evansville High School in 1940. He then went to Williams College, a small Ivy League university in Williamstown, MA. In 1944 he received a Bachelor of Arts in American History. His mother attended the graduation ceremony accepting his degree as he was in the Army and unable to attend.

In 1943 he had enlisted in the U.S. Army at Williams College. He was inducted at Ft. Custer, MI and did basic training at Camp Wheeler, Macon, GA. He then went to Clark University in Worchester, MA and was trained in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) in German Studies, including language. After that he went on to Camp Crowder, MO for training, then to Vint Hill Farms in VA for signal intelligence, then to Maryland and overseas in May 1945. He was stationed in Kreis Budigen, Germany with the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant from a Sergeant. His job was locating, interrogating, and arresting Nazis from the surrounding area.

While in Germany, during 1946, he met his future wife Elfriede (Friedl) Gaertner. After he returned back to the USA in 1947 they continued to correspond. She came to the USA in 1948 and lived with a German girlfriend in the Los Angeles, CA area. They continued to correspond and eventually they married on December 22, 1950 in Pasadena, CA.

Before he married, he had graduated from UW-Madison Law School in 1950 with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence, a law degree. After he married they resided in CA and he worked for Occidental Life while preparing to take the CA bar exam. All that was interrupted in 1951 when he was recalled to the Korean War as a lst Lieutenant Reserve Officer. They moved to Fort Meade, Maryland, outside of Baltimore where he was stationed. In 1952 he was discharged as a First Lieutenant. The two of them and their two children Tim and Eloise moved to Evansville, WI to live. During the next several years they had three more children Friedl, Rick, and Heidi.

He practiced law in Evansville for 56 years from 1952 until 2008. From 1970 through 1980 he was elected to and served on the Rock County Board of Supervisors. He served as Chairman twice. As Chairman of the of the Rock County Park Commission he was instrumental in the purchasing of the land, for a county park, which is now known as Bumps Bluff County Park in Magnolia, WI.

Throughout his adult life he was involved in numerous volunteer organizations including being elected to the Evansville School Board (1953), serving on the Eager Free Public Library Board of Trustees for 35 years beginning in 1953, and the City Council (1957-63). He was a dedicated member of the Evansville United Methodist Church serving on the Administrative Council for years in various positions, including Secretary/Treasurer. He was Secretary of the Rock County Republican Party, Commissioner of the Evansville Housing Authority, President of the Rock County Bar Association, and a member and officer of the Evansville Lions Club for years. He was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of WI. He was a 60 year member of Evansville American Legion Post 35 and he was a lifetime member of the Evansville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6905. One of his favorite groups was the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) where he was a dedicated member and treasurer of the Nathaniel Ames Chapter, a former State President of the WI Society of the SAR, and greatly enjoyed attending the national conventions.

His personal interests included stamp collecting, avid reading (especially history), visiting museums and historical sites, and tennis which he played for enjoyment and competitively for decades. With his wife and later his whole family he traveled extensively, mainly in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, and Canada; and to the Eager Cabin in northern WI where he sailed avidly and enjoyed day long canoe excursions with his children. He also enjoyed visiting parks and libraries wherever he traveled. On Sunday afternoons, after church, he loaded the station wagon up with his family and they would head to various County and State parks for picnics. From his childhood onward he was a devoted Chicago Cub fan which he shared with his father and his brother, Prent. Both he and his brother were thrilled when the Chicago Cubs first won National League Championship, and then the World Series in 2016!

Richard was preceded in death by his parents, his son, Timothy Boyce Eager, his sister Eloise Susan Eager, and his brother Almeron S. Eager. He is survived by his wife, Friedl of 65 years, four children Eloise Paula Eager (Fred Juergens), Friedl Eager, Richard (Rick) Eager (Ann), Heidi Susan Eager-Bryson (Darryl); his grandchildren Ethan Louis Allen and Lindsay Seavert (Allen) Reese (Denver), his great grandchildren Hayden Louis, Lily Hanna, and Dawson Dennis Reese. He is also survived by his brother Leonard P. Eager, Jr (DeEtte Beilfuss Eager), and sister-in-law Diana Willemsen Eager, and numerous nephews and nieces, including two nephews in Germany. And our very special caregiver, Consuelo Mendoza, whom he greatly appreciated and spoke of very highly.

Visitation will be held at the Allen-Meredith Funeral Home, 103 W. Main St., Evansville, WI, Friday, December 2, 2016, from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. and Saturday at the church from 10:30 A.M. until time of service at 11:00 A.M. Funeral services will be held at the Evansville United Methodist Church, 21 S. Madison St., Evansville, WI on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 11:00 A.M., presided by Pastor Norman Bude. Interment with Full Military Honors rendered by Evansville VFW Post 6905, will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery.

Memorials may be given, in his name, to the Evansville United Methodist Church, the Eager Free Public Library, or Agrace Hospice.