Earl Colgan Jr.
Earl Colgan Jr. Earl Colgan Jr., of Sioux Falls, S.D., died March 12, 2022, under hospice care at Good Samaritan Village. He was 89 years old.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. with the family present an hour prior on Friday, March 18, 2022, at the Miller Westside Chapel, 6200 West 41st Street.
Earl was born March 5, 1933, to Earl and Esther Dorothy (Benwitz) Colgan Sr. He was the youngest of five children. While in high school, he worked at the Park Ridge Lunch Counter. He participated in debate, Golden Gloves boxing and was active in the band, where he became an accomplished clarinetist. His band director encouraged him to direct the band at times and led him to pursue a music degree after high school.
He worked his way through Augustana College by checking rail safety for Burlington Northern Railways. In 1953, he founded the Northlander’s Jazz Band for the college, a group that is still active today. He graduated in 1955 with a masters of arts in music education from the University of South Dakota. He went on to direct band programs in Brandon, S.D., Hills-Beaver Creek, and Canby, MN.
On June 8, 1955, he married Corrine Sievers, and they were blessed with six children. The family moved to Tracy, MN, in 1979 to work for Music Street, a local music chain with three stores regionally. After five years, Earl went back to teaching in Canby. He became a widower in December of 1995. On January 1,1999, Earl married Bobbie Milton of Sioux Falls, and they spent 23 happy years together, including five years in Tempe, AZ.
Earl enjoyed traveling, visiting many historical locations across the Midwest. He had a love of history and could spend hours talking about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Great Depression, and World War II. He enjoyed reading and was active in both the Canby and Tracy Public Library Boards. Religiously, he completed the daily crossword and cryptogram puzzles-in pen.
Preceding him in death are his parents and siblings; his first wife and two sons, Michael and Allen Colgan.
He is survived by Bobbie Colgan, Debbie (Scott) Musselman, Timothy (Teresa) Colgan, David (Tammy) Colgan, Virginia Colgan and step-daughter, Tina (Corey) Johnson-Gunn. More survivors include ten grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.