Kelly Regan

Kelly Regan, 74 of Bonita Springs, passed away on Friday, February 1 after a heroic battle with lung cancer. Kelly passed peacefully in her sleep with her daughter Jila holding her hand. Kelly had entered hospice on January 3rd in her home with her friends and family by her side.

Kelly was born July 2, 1944 in Denver, Colorado to the late Maurice Watson Kelly and Elizabeth (Young) Kelly. When she was just four years old her father decided to move the family to Douglas, a small island off of Juneau, Alaska. Kelly grew up as a pioneer - traveling unpaved roads - hiking trails not yet known to more than a handful of her friends. She loved sharing the story of her father accidentally shooting the propeller of his Cessna 150 instead of wolves in Nome. They called him ‘Prop Shot Kelly, the Tundra Terror’. The family picnicked on the rocks next to the Pacific Ocean - and hiked the Mendenhall Glacier - and Taku Ice Fields. She graduated from University of Missouri School of Journalism in 1964 and took her first professional job in Worcester, MA for a local newspaper.

Kelly was married for ten years to the late David V. Regan, and raised their two daughters Trish (Regan) Horowitz, and Jila Regan, in Wayland, MA. Once her daughters finished their college careers - Kelly sold their Wayland home and purchased her dream home on Cape Cod - where she spent over twenty years enjoying the Back River in Monument Beach and appreciating the true beauty of the area - she was glad to be back on the water - and compared the location with Juneau - the wildlife/birds and the breathtaking views. She purchased her home in Bonita Springs a few years ago - wanting to be a true ‘snowbird’ and escaping the New England winters.

Kelly loved to travel, taking recent trips to South Africa and Vietnam with friends, and to Easter Island and a cross-country trip with her daughter Jila. She rode ostriches - tried foreign foods - and always pushed herself out of her own comfort zone - daring to explore the unknown. Always remaining a true pathfinder. Kelly was able to enjoy an extended Thanksgiving this past year with her grandchildren in New England - and over the Christmas holidays she was surrounded by family in Bonita Springs - all will remember her last outing to Big Hickory Island - where she bravely faced the cold waters of the sea on December 29th - to celebrate her cousin Lori's birthday.

She also loved to volunteer her time to others - helping at various orphanages in several countries, and giving books/supplies to village schools in Nepal. Each year for Christmas, she would donate funds to various charities in her grandchildren’s names, teaching them the importance of compassion for others.

Kelly had one sibling, her younger brother Tom Kelly, he died in 1986 while on a fishing trip in Alaska.

Kelly is survived by her daughters Trish and Jila, cousins Douglas and Lori Young and their family (Karen, Kelsey, PJ, Bill, Kristi, Matthew and Alice), cousin Diane and her family (Tracy, David and Jeff) sister-in-law Sharon Kelly, nieces Tera (and her son Bailey) and Erin Kelly, nephew Nicholas Kelly (and his daughter Lily). Kelly was blessed with three grandsons Ben, Noah, and David Horowitz. She also leaves behind her closest friends that have become family - Cyndee and Larry Perkins, Amy and Greg Fenton (and their sons Coleman and Ryan), Linda Hamilton, Barb Allen, Sheila Grant, Pam Miller and her family (Wendy, James and Lauren Scoppa, Chad, Julie, Ryan, Norah, Andy, Evan Miller), Nancy Chadbourne, Julie Harris, Tom Pisano, Nona Pione, Tim and Marilyn Brown, Liz Sandler, and so many more.

The family will spread her ashes in Back River, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans over the Summer.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, contributions to either Kiva (https://www.kiva.org/) or the Zach Gordon Youth Center (396 Whittier Street, Juneau, Alaska,(907) 586-2635, http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/youthcenter/) be made in Kelly's memory.