James J. Eagan
James J. "Jim" Eagan (March 4, 1926 – November 2, 2000) was the longtime Mayor of Florissant, Missouri in St. Louis County.
Early life
Eagan was a politician in St. Louis before becoming Mayor of Florissant. He also served during World War II in the US Navy at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
As Mayor
James Eagan was Mayor from 1963 until his death in 2000.
He was re-elected an unprecedented 9 times
Eagan was a charismatic figure and was well known throughout the St. Louis Area. Florissant became a thriving community just north of St. Louis in at the beginning of Eagan's tenure and remained that way until his death. The population was between 50,000 and 70,000 throughout his almost 40 years of service.
Controversies
He was known as "The Jolly Green Giant" and was highly visible around town in his Kelly green jacket. He even managed to anger some Army veterans by painting a tank at Bangert Park Kelly Green instead of Army Green. After some protest Eagan reluctantly agreed to let the men paint it Army green.