February 11, 2020 surrounded by family. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, he was
the son of Regis Yoest, Sr. and Pearl Copelin Yoest. He was a brother, husband,
father, grandfather, and a great grandfather, but mainly a great friend. While
his sister, Pearl Yoest preceded him in death, he is survived by his wife of 47
years, Patricia Placek Yoest; children, Brian (Shana) Yoest, Michelle Boyle,
Cristine (Gerald) Wilkinson and Teri Lea (Christopher) Ahlswede; grandchildren,
Sheri (Bobby) Lowe, Brian Yoest, Kacey Amorose, Kayla Amorose, Konner
Amorose, Tanner Boyle, Jacob Wilkinson and Adora Belle Ahlswede; great
grandchildren, Peyton and Kiley Lowe; and best friend since 1st grade, Rich Brozi.
Regis had an incredible life. While attending military grade school, he was
leader of his platoon and was offered scholarships to any military high school in
the US. He chose to become a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard,
and held the highest rank. But his outgoing personality and love of people led
him to the realization that sales was his passion. From sewing machines to
insurance, shampoo to pharmaceuticals – he could sell ice to Eskimos. In 1978,
he was promoted to Regional Manager for Foster Grant Sunglass Company,
and was relocated – along with his wife, Pat - to Denver, Colorado. Not long
after, he decided to open up his own retail chain throughout Colorado. Foster
Grant blessed him with a rack of sunglasses to get started and Shades of Vail
was born. After enjoying the mountains for a few years, they decided to move
to warmer weather and ended up in Key West, Florida. They opened six more
stores on the island with his son, Brian and were joined by his daughter, Cristine,
shortly thereafter.
When he wasn’t golfing or fishing, Regis enjoyed giving back to the community
and ran numerous golf and softball tournaments for a variety of charities and
causes. He sponsored a myriad of local sports teams and events, directed
church festivals, emceed numerous affairs, and judged beauty pageants, but
declined countless offers to run for mayor of Key West. Throughout his life, Regis
served on the board of directors for United Way of Monroe County, Easter Seals
Society, US Navy League of Key West, and the MARC House. Always a leader,
he was President of Mountain Shades, Owner of Shades of Vail, Shades of Key
West and R & K Wholesale, Inc. and was awarded the 1st Annual Key West
Businessman of the Year by the Sunrise Rotary Club of Key West.
In 1995, he moved with his wife and youngest daughter, Teri Lea, to Daytona
Beach, Florida and fulfilled his life-long dream of retiring on the golf course. But it
wasn’t in Rege’s nature to “sit back and relax.” He was very active in the
Pelican Bay Country Club and helped organize their Member/Member and
Member/Guest tournaments several years in a row. His love of golf and people
led him to oversee the annual golf tournaments for Our Lady of Hope Catholic
Church as well. By the prompting of Father Ray O’Leary, he came out of
“retirement” in 1999 to open the Our Lady of Hope Thrift Store. He and Pat ran
the store until 2004, when they decided to take advantage of their RV and work
a job that allowed them to travel and camp throughout Florida - something
they thoroughly enjoyed.
Regis followed all sports, especially the Pittsburgh Steelers and Key West Conchs
baseball team. He attended three super bowl games, played and managed
men’s and coed softball teams in Pittsburgh, Vail, Key West and Daytona for
over 25 years and was fortunate enough to win many league championships
throughout the country! He was a youth basketball coach, a cha-cha
champion, and founder of the Key West Ski and Scuba Club. He loved to travel
and left footprints in Italy, Austria, Cuba, Israel, Mexico, the Caribbean and all
over the US. He was never afraid of a microphone and was right at home in the
spotlight. He was always on the radio, in the newspaper, or on TV. He almost
shaved his iconic mustache for a role as the cook in Tom Hank’s “From the Earth
to the Moon” but was relieved when they told him he could keep it. In his later
years, he appeared on stage as a sumo wrestler, a can-can dancer, a “wise
guy,” Doubting Thomas, and of course, a salesman.
Regis was a man after God’s own heart and lived to serve others. Please join us
in honoring his life with a Celebration on Saturday, March 7th @ 11am at Elevate
Church Daytona. His heart was to bless the ministry efforts of Elevate Church, so
in lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to Elevate Church in his honor.
Please visit elevatechurchdaytona.com/regisyoestmemorial for more
information.
The Regis Yoest Memorial Golf Outing will be Sunday, March 8th at 3pm at New Smyrna Beach Golf Course. Please register by Weds, Feb 26th at https://facebook.com/events/s/regis-yoest-memorial-golf-outi/189182545647275/?ti=icl
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