Kevin C. Colgan

Kevin C. Colgan

La Jolla, CA

Kevin C. Colgan, 73, former principal of the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment

Kevin C. Colgan, 73, passed away Christmas morning at home in La Jolla, California, where he had been living with his daughter Flavia Colgan and son-in-law Dr. James Mangan and undergoing medical treatments for the illness that ultimately took his life.

He is survived by his daughters Flavia Colgan and Kelsey Colgan and his son Breandan Colgan.

Colgan was born in North Philadelphia in 1952 and grew up in North Philadelphia and Roxborough and graduated from La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, PA and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He was an oarsman at St. Joe’s and went on to win a number of national championships. He was the proud son of the late Charles and Mary Colgan. He raised his eldest daughter in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and lived the latter part of his life in Wynnewood, PA.

Kevin went on to a 30-year teaching career in the School District of Philadelphia where he made a deep impact on the lives of thousands of students. His daughter Kelsey remembers that “Dad loved his own kids and his students and wanted them all to excel. He was fun and had a great sense of humor.” Colgan was also a beloved principal at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, where he completed his master’s degree in Vedic Science at Maharishi International University. As principal, he played the Governor of Iowa in the school play and his daily driver was a 1950 Ford which he called the “Blue Beetle.” Students and faculty alike recall him doing full workouts in the fieldhouse in his famous suits, suspenders and all. His daughter Kelsey was born in Iowa in the middle of a snowstorm during Kevin’s time there.

His former colleague at the Maharishi School Peter Orange recalls that "Kevin was an extremely positive person who lived with joy and spread that to all around him. Young people were drawn to him like metal filings to a magnet. He changed lives for the better every moment of the 36 years I knew him."

In retirement, Kevin has continued to manage numerous rental properties in Philadelphia and the suburbs and has given back to the community through his work with non-profits.

Throughout his life, Kevin’s deepest passion was that of being a father. He loved watching his son Breandan play hockey and could often be seen cheering in the stands at Breandan’s games. Daughter Flavia Colgan remembers her Dad: “My father Kevin Colgan was the light of my life. He was kind, thoughtful, and generous and totally dedicated to being a father above anything and everything else. Our conversations were deep and meaningful, and he ignited my spirit and my soul. He could wax poetic about Eastern philosophy or history, but then would pivot quickly with his classic dry humor to a quip or a joke that would make me laugh out loud. He was one of one. He was always my heart’s home and his light will continue to shine brightly within me and all the lives he touched.

Photo by Flavia Colgan