Colleen M. Eagan

Colleen McConnell Eagan, 91, passed away Sunday morning, March 26, 2023 at Adams Woodcrest.

Colleen was born March 3, 1932, in Decatur, Indiana to Joseph L.  and Ercie Dull McConnell.  Colleen married John G. “Jack” Heller on March 19, 1950 in Decatur, Indiana and he preceded her in death on February 10, 2005.  Colleen married Warren C. “Cliff” Eagan on December 9, 1972 in Gainesville, Florida and he preceded her in death on October 30, 2013.

Colleen was a member of the Zion United Church of Christ in Decatur and a formerly a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Decatur and of Gainesville, Florida.  She held numerous lay positions in the church.  She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Decatur and the League of Women Voters in Gainesville.

Colleen was an avid genealogist.  She meticulously researched the McConnells (her father’s ancestors) and the Dulls (her mother’s ancestors).  She published two books: James McConnell (ca.1715-1764) of Sherman’s Valley Tyrone Township Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and From Village to Village, The ancestries of the Dull and Johnson families of Van Wert County, Ohio.

She was a 1950 graduate of Decatur High School and graduated from the University of Florida in 1975 where she earned a B.A. degree in Anthropology. She worked as an administrative assistant in two departments at the University of Florida, but spent most of her adult life as a homemaker.

She is survived by a daughter, Patricia Heller (James O.) Hill of Birmingham, Al; son, Eric Alan (Catherine Mackson) Heller of Armidale NSW, Australia; son, Stephen Van (Judy Gross) Heller of Oak Park, IL, eight grandchildren, Margaret Heller (Michael) Birnbaum of Chicago, IL, Abigail Heller-Lieb (Maxwell Leib) of Chicago, IL, Elizabeth Heller (Christy Jay Wells) of Tempe, AZ, Alexander Hill of Birmingham, AL, Michael (Madeline) Hill of Washington, DC, Erica Heller-Wagner (David McCarthy) of Melbourne, Australia, Rachel Heller-Wagner (Jordan Fuessel) of Melbourne, Australia, Gideon Heller-Wagner of Washington, DC; three great-grandchildren, Ira Birnbaum of Chicago, IL, Julian Birnbaum of Chicago, IL, and Molly Katherine Helle- Fussel of Melbourne, Australia.

In addition to her parents and husbands, she was preceded in death by a brother, John McConnell and a sister, Florence “Anne” McConnell Wright.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, April 8, 2023 at Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home, 520 North 2 ^nd Street, Decatur, Indiana with Pastor Randy Rossman officiating.  Burial will follow at the Decatur Cemetery.

Family and friends will be received from Noon to 2:00 p.m., on Friday, April 7, 2023 at Adams Woodcrest, 1300 Mercer Avenue in Decatur, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the funeral home on Friday and one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the funeral home.

Preferred memorials are to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. Donations may be made in person at Colleen’s visitation and funeral or online at https://donate.parentprojectmd.org/give/369549/#!/donation/checkout

Arrangements are by the Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home, Decatur.