Michael H. Egle

Michael H. Egle

Michael H. Egle, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, educator, and coach, passed away on March 6, 2025, at the age of 84. Mike’s journey with Alzheimer’s Disease began a decade ago, and he spent the last 3 years of his life being cared for at Whisper Meadows in Bothell, Washington.

Mike was born on February 8, 1941, to Larry and Antoinette Egle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he grew up with his younger sister Marianne. He graduated from Bayview High School in Milwaukee and attended Marquette University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics. He then attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned his Master of Science degree in the brand-new field of Computer Science. While pursuing education beyond his Masters, he met and married his wife of 56 years Judy Liddiard.

Together they moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1968 where Mike would be one of the founding professors in the newly established Computer Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Mike and Judy raised 2 children in La Crosse, daughter Debra and son David. Mike was a professor at UW-L for 32 years and instructed and helped guide thousands of students onto their future career paths. He had great pride in his work, pioneering the large lecture/small group concept for the introductory level of Computer Science and recording hundreds of hours of TV lectures throughout the years. (He would often be seen on campus speed-walking between buildings by students and faculty alike and always provided a hearty wave to acknowledge them.)

Mike was an avid sports fan and coached baseball for more than 10 years, including teams for his son Dave, and 8th grade basketball at Blessed Sacrament Church for 18 years. He was also involved in various fantasy football and fantasy baseball leagues with colleagues from the university and friends met through church and the neighborhood. At a time before the internet made statistics readily available, Mike often compiled his own stats on his favorite players and teams. Mike was a life-long runner, running several marathons and half marathons throughout his life, including a half marathon in 2004 with his daughter Deb.

Mike and Judy were fortunate to travel often to Minnesota to visit their son Dave and family and to Colorado then Washington to visit their daughter Deb and family. He enjoyed spending time with his family and grandkids, taking trips to Wisconsin Dells with them, and playing both board and card games with them. Mike enjoyed working in the garden at his home in La Crosse, which usually involved planting an over-abundance of tomatoes and zucchini and he always took great pride in his yard and appearance.

In 2011, Mike and Judy moved to Redmond, Washington and enjoyed living in the active senior community Trilogy. They welcomed the change from Wisconsin winters and walked in their neighborhood or worked out in their fitness center nearly every day. They enjoyed exploring their new surroundings and Mike especially enjoyed discovering new restaurant buffets.

He is survived by his wife, Judy, daughter Deb (Andrew Nielsen), granddaughters Katrina and Lindsey, son Dave (Colleen Hansen), grandsons Joshua and Matthew, sister Marianne Franks, and numerous nieces and nephews.

We will miss Mike’s easy smile, his love of pizza and the Green Bay Packers, his adept game playing skills, and so many things that we will look back upon to keep those memories alive in our hearts.