John Thomas Beegan, 58, a 32-year resident of Streamwood, retired in December as a sergeant with the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department’s 3rd District station in Rolling Meadows after nearly 37 years of service. Mr. Beegan, a Chicago native, died Wednesday, March 8, in Florida. Mr. Beegan, who attended a Carmelite seminary, received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the late 1960s. In the 1970s Mr. Beegan received a staff and command course certificate at the Northwestern University Traffic Institute in Evanston. “He loved his job, and he loved the officers who worked for him,” said Sheriff’s Police North Area Cmdr. Margaret Duffy, a colleague for 31 years and Mr. Beegan’s most recent supervisor. “He was a father figure for them. He had a strong concern for everyone. He helped citizens on the street and those who came in with problems. He had a very generous spirit,” Duffy said. “John was the first to step in to help raise money for an officer who was injured or a child who was hurt. He was a devout Catholic. John is missed by everybody here.” Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Joanne; three daughters, Margaret Mary Royston, Mary Kathleen and Therese Marie; a son, Daniel Joseph; his mother, Helen; and six sisters, Mary Taylor, Margaret Keffer, Carol Skonicki, Patricia Kenney, Sister Genemarie and Catherine. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
