Ellen Nagle Eggerton, 66, a mechanical engineer and longtime Virginia and Maryland resident who spent much of her life fighting stereotypes about women in a man's field, died of cancer September 7 at Virginia Hospital Center (now VHC Health) in Arlington, Virginia.
Eggerton was the wife of longtime Broadcasting+Cable and Multichannel News writer John Eggerton, who was the B+C bureau chief in Washington, D.C., for decades and remains a contributor to the magazines’ Next TV website.
At the time of her death Ellen Eggerton was the sustainability coordinator for the City of Alexandria, Virginia. As such, she was instrumental in updating the city's Environmental Action Plan. The 2040 plan, which was unanimously adopted by the City Council in July 2019, calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and 80%-100% by 2050.
Eggerton was a member of the Virginia Building Code Officials Association and a coordinating member of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Born in Hicksville, New York, and raised in Saugerties, New York, and Beltsville, Maryland, she graduated with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the Catholic University of America in 1978 and a Master of General Administration, Public Administration, degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 1989.
Eggerton earned her Professional Engineering (PE) license in January 2009 and, during time as a stay-at-home mom, sold children's books as an Usborne consultant.
Survivors include sisters Karen and Jeanmarie; brother, Tom; husband, John; three daughters, Patricia, Pamela, and Virginia; their husbands, respectively, Stuart, Michael and Pablo; and grandson, Wesley.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society and Unicef's campaign to help the children of Ukraine. ■
