Star-Ledger -- Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Egan, a South Jersey native serving in Iraq, last spoke to his mother on Sunday.

In a 45-minute phone call, the Army National Guard soldier told his mother, Irene Egan of Pennsauken, about his job clearing roadside bombs planted by insurgents, and about his plans for the future.

"She said it was the nicest conversation, talking about when they were going to get home," said Irene Egan's sister, Anne Frentzen of Beach Haven. "Then he said to her, 'I've got to hang up. I'm going to take a nap, and then get back to work.' That's what she's going to remember."

The following day, on Monday, Egan and three other soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, military officials said. He leaves a wife and 3-year-old daughter.

The four -- Egan, 36, and two other members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, plus a fourth serviceman from Vermont -- died in two separate explosions in Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad.

"They were out there looking for these bombs these people were putting on the roads," Frentzen said. "They were looking for these insurgents, to protect the Iraqi people."

A 1987 graduate of Pennsauken High School in Camden County, Egan served in the Marine Corps from 1990 to 1999, Frentzen said.

After he got out of the Marines, Egan was employed by Alliance Electric, located near the Philadelphia International Airport.

Egan and his wife, Maria, lived in New Castle, Del., with their daughter, Samantha. At work, Egan kept pictures of his wife and daughter in his toolbox, his aunt said.

Egan joined the Pennsylvania National Guard about two years ago. Part of the reason for joining was the extra money. "A lot of it was the camaraderie," Frentzen said.

Shortly before Christmas last year, he got word that he would be sent to Iraq, his aunt said. He trained for several months out of state, and was sent to Iraq in July, his aunt said.

Egan was scheduled to return stateside for two weeks in October, and his tour of duty was to end in the middle of next year, she added.

His wife was notified of Egan's death early Tuesday, and word spread quickly to the rest of his family, Frentzen said.

The other soldiers, both members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, were identified as Spc. William Evans, 22, of Hallstead, Susquehanna County, and Spc. William Fernandez, 37, of Reading. Also killed was Lt. Mark Dooley of the Vermont National Guard.

Evans, Fernandez and Dooley were riding in an armored Humvee when they spotted insurgents; they went to investigate and were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated nearby, officials said.

Egan was riding in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle when he was killed a few hours earlier in a similar incident in the same area.