Lifelong community advocate, volunteer, U.S. Army veteran, lawyer, grandfather

Fulton B. Eaglin died at age 80 on November 18. He was born to Simon and Marguerite (Davis) on November 23, 1941, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended St. John the Baptist and St. Thomas Catholic Schools.

Mr. Eaglin graduated from Eastern Michigan University and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1963. He served as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After completing his army service, Mr. Eaglin attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1969. He worked for several political campaigns in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, then moved back to Michigan. He passed the Michigan bar in 1975, after which he began an independent law practice, practiced law for 40 years, and retired in 2015.

Mr. Eaglin was deeply passionate about community service and social upliftment. He was also active in the United Way movement, serving as president of the United Way of Michigan and on the national United Way Board of Trustees. He was the president of the Ypsilanti Community Schools Foundation from 2009 until 2015. Mr. Eaglin was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity,  as well as a founding member of the Gamma Rho chapter of the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity and served as its president.

A lifelong Kiwanian, he served as the president of the Ann Arbor club in 1989 and the Claremont club in 2018, for which he was awarded the distinguished president award. As one of his fellow Kiwanians said, “Fulton’s perspective of equity and inclusion in all things challenged and enhanced people’s lives.” Mr. Eaglin was also an avid motor vehicle enthusiast, owning multiple motorcycles, vintage cars, and boats.

Most of all, Mr. Eaglin loved and was devoted to his family. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Dr. Jan Collins-Eaglin; son, Dr. Fulton Christopher (Emilie) Eaglin; daughters, Dr. Jennifer (Stephanie) Eaglin and Jessica (Kurt) Eaglin, Esq.; grandsons, Maxwell and Amos Waldman; and his sister, Valerie Eaglin.

A memorial service will be held in Michigan in 2023.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to the Kiwanis Club of Claremont, where a scholarship fund has been established in Mr. Eaglin’s name, at claremontkiwanis.org.