Denise (Dede) Miriam (Appleyard) Egan, 68, of Sauk City, WI passed away at her home with her husband of 50 years by her side after a 3 ½ year battle with pancreatic cancer. She was born June 3, 1955 in Lansing, Michigan to Esmond (Carter) Appleyard, Jr. and Jacqueline (Buchanan) Appleyard. Dede graduated in 1973 from Naperville Central High School in Naperville, IL where she met her best friend and the love her of life, Robert (Bob) Egan. They were married November 24, 1973 and recently celebrated their 50th anniversary with a beautiful vow renewal. Dede was a devoted mother and never missed an opportunity to volunteer in her children's classrooms, attend school field trips, and cheer them on in their sports and activities.

She was a homemaker and stay-at-home mom for many years before working as a library aid at Walkers Grove Elementary School in Plainfield, IL and as a secretary at Sauk Prairie Middle School in Sauk City, WI. Dede, Bob and their 4 children resided in Plainfield, IL from 1976-1998, then Lodi, WI from 1998-2022. In the spring of 2022 Dede and Bob downsized and moved into a condo in Sauk City, WI. Living in town was such a wonderful novelty for them after years of country living, and they frequently took advantage of the ability to walk or ride their bikes to shops, restaurants, the library, and the Great Sauk Trail. Dede and Bob shared a love of camping, biking, walking, and hiking.

When they retired they bought a 5 th wheel camper and traveled for weeks at a time, camping at parks in Florida, New York, and Colorado amongst many others. They also frequently took weekend camping trips with their children/grandchildren or their high school friends, who they remained close with all these years. Dede and Bob also shared a love for the beach, their favorite place being St. George Island, Florida where they spent many happy vacations. Dede was an avid gardener and was known for her green thumb. She was also a pet lover and over the years was mom to 2 dogs and more cats than can be counted.

Dede leaves behind 4 children; Candy (Egan) Johnson, Crystal (Egan) DeKalb, Courtney (Egan) Schwartz, and Cody Egan, 3 sons-in-law; Greg Johnson, Mike Schwartz, and Ben Bisbach, and her 6 beloved grandchildren; Brooke Johnson, Cole Johnson, Carter DeKalb, Hazel DeKalb, Cadence Schwartz, and Kane Schwartz. She is also survived by her siblings; Jan (Carroll) Brumfield, Jeff (Mary) Appleyard, and Gina (Tom) Varley, her special cousin Brittney Buchanan, and many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Carter and Jacki Appleyard, in-laws, Bob and Gwen Egan, and grandparents Esmond and Sylvia Appleyard and Lyle and Alice Bancroft.

A memorial service will be held at St. John's Lutheran Church (100 Oak St. Prairie du Sac, WI 53578) on Monday, January 15 at 11am with a luncheon to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a pancreatic cancer foundation, such as Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (pancan.org) or Project Purple (projectpurple.org).