PASSINGS: Robert Schindler, Richard Egan

Robert Schindler

Father of Terri Schiavo

Robert Schindler, 71, the father of Terri Schiavo, who became a national symbol in a closely watched right-to-die fight, has died, his son said Saturday.

Schindler, a tireless activist through years of legal wrangling, died of heart failure at a St. Petersburg, Fla., hospital. Schiavo, who courts ruled was in a “persistent vegetative state,� died in 2005 after the feeding tube that had nourished her for years was removed according to her husband’s wishes.

“I am heartbroken over the loss of my father, and yet I know at this moment he is rejoicing with my sister, Terri,� Bobby Schindler said Saturday in a statement.

Schiavo’s heart stopped in 1990 but her family insisted she wanted to live and could be helped with therapy. Schiavo was able to breathe on her own but relied on a feeding and hydration tube to live.

Her husband, Michael, said his wife would not have wanted to live in a vegetative state and had the feeding tube removed twice. Legal maneuverings continued for years.

Congress eventually passed a bill allowing a federal court to intervene and let the feeding tube remain. President George W. Bush left his Texas ranch to sign it into law.

A federal judge refused to order her feeding tube reinserted, a decision upheld by a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

An autopsy supported Michael Schiavo’s contention that his wife was in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery.

Family members described Schindler as a compassionate man who led with a quiet strength during the hardest times.

Schindler and other family members founded the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation after her death.

Richard Egan

U.S. ambassador to Ireland

Richard Egan, 73, who became U.S. ambassador to Ireland after making millions of dollars founding data storage giant EMC Corp., died Friday of lung cancer.

He died at his Boston home, his family said in a statement.

Egan, who raised seed money for his business by selling office furniture, was a key fundraiser for the Republican Party and former President George W. Bush. He stepped down as EMC chairman in January 2001, about three months before Bush nominated him to be the U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

Egan, born Feb. 28, 1936, received a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Egan was an electrical engineer and a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot who worked at Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Intel before he co-founded data storage technology provider EMC in 1979. He sold most of his shares in the tech boom, shortly before the bubble burst.

-- times wire reports [email protected]