WWII veteran gets motorcycle parade in Crystal Lake for her 102nd birthday

Lorraine Egan has asked for one special thing for her birthday over the past three years: a parade of motorcycles to drive past her Crystal Lake home.

At 102, Egan’s family gets mom what she wants, said her daughter, Kathy Meyer. On Sunday, about 50 motorcycles drove past Egan’s home – then they turned around and went by again.

After giving Egan a bouquet of flowers, donated by Countryside Flower Shop and Nursery, and stopping to wish her a happy birthday, the remaining bikers circled the block so that Egan could watch them go past again from the comfort of her front steps.

“This is Lorraine. She is one tough lady,” Meyer said.

Meyer was not sure, at first, if Egan would completely enjoy the motorcycle parade this year. Egan, whose birthday was on Sunday, had a stroke a few weeks ago. She’s in home hospice care, with family taking turns staying with the matriarch. But Sunday “was a good day for her,” Meyer said.

The birthday celebration was spread out over two days as to not overwhelm Egan, she said. One or two family members went into her room at a time to visit with her.

It isn’t the first time Egan has gotten hospice care.

“A couple of years ago, she went into hospice. But she fooled them” and pulled through, Meyer said.

Egan’s niece, Ellen Brady, said she stays with her and visits too. She tries to keep conversation going, as not to bore Egan, Brady said, but her aunt will tell her when she’s had enough.

Sherry Buchholz organized the bikers and the ride, posting about the event on some motorcycle and veteran Facebook pages. Egan is a veteran herself, having been among the first 200 women to join what the Navy called WAVES – Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. She enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor, while she was still at Crystal Lake Central High School. Egan was featured last year on the cover of the Northwest Herald’s Thank You Veterans, a special tribute section that is returning this November.

Riders came from area American Legion and VFW posts, or just because they saw the request on those social media pages. Many stopped and visited with Egan on the porch and shared their birthday wishes.

One man decided to get a selfie on the porch with the birthday girl, and Egan stole a peck on cheek.