- December 26, 2024
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Co-workers pose by Jim Egan's bus. Standing: Mike Grimes, James Snow, Jolene Araujo, Geri Drayton, George Brown, Autumn Barraza, Shelly Banker. Kneeling: Kathryn Chafe, Emil Egasan, Lakisha Ayers-White, Carla Nolen, Lana Flanery.
Jim Egan belonged to "The From Outa Nowhere Band." Courtesy photo.
Jim and Sue Egan were married for 40 years. Courtesy photo.
Jim Egan
Jim Egan loved children.
In fact, he loved people.
The Flagler Schools bus driver would do anything he could to help out his friends, acquaintances or total strangers. He would open his home to anyone who needed a helping hand. He treated the children on his bus like they were his own grandkids.
Egan, 64, died in a motorcycle crash on Belle Terre Parkway at Ponce de Leon Drive on Oct. 5 while coming home from work.
"My dad loves kids," his daughter, Cori Egan, said. "Any kid he treated like his kid. If a kid was acting up he would talk to them as if they were his own grandkids. He never wanted to write them up."
Jim Egan had worked in the school district's transportation department since 2015. He drove the bat bus which ran to Matanzas High School and Belle Terre Elementary School.
"He was passionate about helping his co-workers and when he believed in something he fought for it," said fellow school bus driver Lakisha Ayers-White. "I am the union VP and I approached him for months to join FESPA, and he finally did."
He told Ayers-White, "Kisha, I'm retired. I'm only here for the kids, but I will join for you."
He moved to Florida from New York State in 1991 and worked in a variety of fields -- construction, real estate, insurance and in a vehicle auction house.
"My dad could do everything," Cori Egan said. "He fixed cars, he built a house, he did plumbing."
Co-worker Denise Halle moved to Flagler County a year ago and began driving a school bus. She said she needed help around her house and didn't know anybody.
"He was the first one to offer," Halle said. "He painted my driveway, fixed my mailbox. He went out of his way to help. What a sad loss for everybody who knew him."
Milton Madonia attended high school with Egan in Newburgh, New York, in the 1970s and stayed in touch with him over the years.
"He really was a down-to-earth, stand-up guy who would help out anyway he could at any time," Madonia said.
Egan taught himself how to play guitar and joined a band, his daughter said. He raised three daughters and helped raise seven grandchildren, a nephew, a great grandchild and his wife Sue's daughters from her first marriage, Cori Egan said.
"He always had an open-door policy," she said. "So many people lived with us on and off. That's who he was. That's who he is. His arms are wide."
Egan lived life to the fullest but was all about safety, his daughter and friends said.
"When we moved from New York he took me to the beach to teach me how to swim out of rip currents," Cori Egan said. "He showed us how to come in. He was deeply vigilant about safety. He knew how to ride (a motorcycle) better than anybody. He was the captain of adventure. He took us mountain climbing. But he always taught us it was OK to have fun if you were safe first. Always be aware of your surroundings."
Ayers-White said, "When I told him my husband bought me a motorcycle, he went into teacher mode. 'Kisha, I want you to go home and look up on YouTube about counter steering.'"
"He went out of his way to help. What a sad loss for everybody who knew him."
DENISE HALLE, fellow school bus driver
"He was one of the safest guys I knew," said Mike Grimes, who also had the Matanzas High School and Belle Terre Elementary School runs. "He was real safety conscious. He took it real serious. He was a great driver."
Cori Egan said her parents were married for 40 years, but they had known each other since they were children.
"My dad would ride his (bicycle) for miles to go see her," she said. "Mom dumped him on the footsteps of senior prom, and dad's family moved to Florida for a bit. But he crashed her first wedding. He hitchhiked from Florida to New York."
Fellow bus driver Jerry Munson said he will miss his conversations with Egan.
"He was a hell of a guy," Munson said. "He knew a little bit about everything. He had a good demeanor, a calming voice. It's hard losing a friend and a colleague. It's just sad."
With the transportation department short-handed, many drivers have taken on extra runs. Egan was going home after his extra run, Munson said, when the crash occurred. The day after the crash Munson was asked to take over Egan's extra run.
"I said it would be an honor," Munson said.
