The January 4 inauguration of Deval Patrick as governor and Timothy Murray as lieutenant governor was a significant day not only for the commonwealth, but for the Egan family of Warren Avenue. Rob, Elizabeth, and Emily Egan attended the inauguration ceremonies in Boston, starting with Rob’s attendance at the morning interfaith service in the Old South Meeting House.

Emily Egan. (Photo by Rob Williams)

The service was a small one, with just over 70 guests of the Patrick family invited to attend a ceremony presided over by a broad representation of clergy from the state. “It was like the United Nations of religions,” he said. Egan, who is involved with the new administration as the point man for health care reform, said the experience was an inspirational one, a word he also used to describe the inauguration itself. When Patrick was sworn in at noon on the steps of the State House, Egan said, the moment gave him chills. “Change was truly in the air,” he said.

After Rob drove back to Harvard to pick up daughter Emily from Bromfield, the two attended the youth inaugural in the Shubert Theatre at three o’clock that afternoon. Emily, a 10th-grader, attended this event with hundreds of other students from every high school in Massachusetts. The event was the highlight of the whole inauguration for him, Rob said. Governor Patrick invited students to express their views on the challenges facing them as individuals and as members of the next generation. “The commitment he’s made to listening to young people and their concerns [was impressive],” he said.

Emily said Governor Patrick’s speech to the young people there felt very personal. “I felt like he was speaking directly to me,” she said. But the best part was hearing what the other high school students felt they could achieve for the good of the commonwealth. “It was a good reminder that we are the next generation and together we can make Massachusetts a better place,” she said.

After taking Emily home, Rob and Elizabeth, a special education teacher at the elementary school, dressed to the nines to attend the 8 p.m. inaugural celebration at the convention center. Looking back over the events of the day, Rob’s enthusiasm for the whole experience was undimmed two weeks later. “It was a glorious day,” he said.