Carol Regenauer

Carol was born on October 1, 1935, to the late Margaret Mary (Bresnahan) McCurdy and Russell Joseph McCurdy of Pawtucket, RI. She was the eldest of two children and was predeceased by her younger brother, Russell Joseph McCurdy, Jr. of Lee, NH.

Carol grew up in Pawtucket, RI and graduated from Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now part of Boston College) in 1957. She raised her three sons in Sudbury, MA, before moving to Lexington, MA, and eventually moving to Brewster, MA to live on the Cape full time. She spent the last few years of her life at the Wingate Residences in Needham, MA.

Throughout her life, Carol was social, caring, and driven. She always had a large group of friends, a packed social calendar, and never met someone with whom she could not have a conversation. Carol was also a firm believer in gender equality, a belief she instilled in her three sons, all of whom married intelligent and independent women. While she loved being a wife and mother, she also valued having an identity and activities outside of the home. After getting married in 1958, she chose to hold off on having kids for a few years so that she could focus on teaching. Likewise, after having children, she chose to return to teaching even though “that really was not done at the time.” She worked as a second-grade teacher at Broad Street School in Hudson, MA for many years, until starting and teaching a first- through third-grade Montessori class at Farley Elementary School in Hudson, MA.

Carol often told the story of buying a horse with the money she saved from her first year back at work. Horseback riding would become a lifelong hobby for Carol, and it was through riding that she met her decades-long best friend, Jackie Ferraguto. Carol rode horses at Elm Brook Farm in Concord, MA for many years, and belonged to Old North Bridge Hounds in Concord, MA, where she regularly participated in equestrian fox drag hunts. Later in life, she rode at Moby Dick Farm in Brewster, MA.

Carol continued to stay busy and involved in the community well into her retirement. For many years she helped run Young Maine Readers, a nonprofit organization and affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library that provided children in Maine with monthly, age-appropriate books until age five at no cost to their family; played in a women’s league at The Captains Golf Course in Brewster, MA; and still managed to attend weekly Catholic Mass. With such a busy schedule, it is not surprising she was not-infrequently pulled over for speeding (and enjoyed using the excuse, “but officer, I am running late to Mass” to get out of tickets). She was talkative, funny, and loved to tell stories about the situations she and her friends managed to get themselves into and out of.

Most importantly, Carol was a loving mother, grandmother, wife, and friend, and will be dearly missed by all who knew her. She had a very close relationship with all three of her children and often let them know how proud she was of them. She was also close with and proud of her grandchildren, and was frequently in attendance at recitals, games, plays, and graduations. She often commented upon how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family.

Carol was predeceased by her husband of 30 years, Bernard “Bernie” John Regenauer (married 1958 – 1988), and her husband of nearly 15 years, Richard “Dick” Tranfaglia (married 2001 – 2015). She will continue to live in the memories of her three sons and their wives: Bernard “Bernie” Regenauer (Maura Shaughnessy) of Wayland, MA, Russell Regenauer (Karen Regenauer) of Simsbury, CT, and Michael Regenauer (Julie Rizzo-Regenauer) of Medfield MA; her sister-in-law, Sheila McCurdy, of Lee, NH; and her six grandchildren: Kristen Regenauer of Somerville, MA, Derek Regenauer of Simsbury, CT, William Regenauer of Milton, MA, Jacqueline Regenauer of Medfield, MA, Colin Regenauer of Bethesda, MD, and Brendan Regenauer of Wayland, MA.

Visitation will be at the Duckett Funeral Home of J.S. Waterman, 656 Boston Post Rd., Sudbury, MA on Monday, April 21 from 4 PM to 7 PM. Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Church – Ascension Parish Sudbury Parish, 160 Concord Rd., Sudbury, MA on Tuesday, April 22 at 10 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Pan-Mass Challenge, which raises funds for cancer research at Dana-Farber, or Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gifts free books to children from birth to age five.