Laura J. Regis, age 78, passed away on Monday, December 30, 2024 at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Laura is survived by her beloved husband, Patrick Regis; her son, Chris (Charlene) Regis; grandchildren, Savannah (Lou) Regis and Carter Krawczyk; her great grandson Giovanni; and her brother Daniel Brown.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and G. Meredith (nee Richard) Brown, and her brother Darrell Brown.
Laura was a proud, lifelong resident of New Lenox, Illinois. Laura attended Lincoln-Way Central High School where she participated in the school band. After high school, Laura attended Eastern Illinois University and then received a Master’s Degree from Governor’s State University in Nursing Administration. Laura dedicated her life to nursing, running the Dialysis unit at Silver Cross Hospital and eventually moving into medical consultation. She was an adjunct professor for Moraine Valley Community College & Lewis University, teaching future nurses. Laura’s dedication to health did not stop after retirement; in her later years, Laura volunteered for New Lenox’s Safe Communities Program.
Laura had many passions in life including art, music, food, traveling, good friends, family… Simply put, she liked to have a good time — a value she passed down to every generation after her. She was known to break out into song or even completely make one up on the spot, and she never turned down an opportunity to watch the Sound of Music — even forcing her family to sit down and watch it every year on tv — before streaming of course. I (Savannah) grew up listening to stories of all my grandmother’s adventures to far away lands, always stressing the importance of experiencing cultures different from your own & stepping outside your comfort zone… unless that stepping out meant spicy food, she was staying far away after a life changing experience with “guacamole”, that was in fact… wasabi.
To anyone who knew Laura it was very clear, the true loves in her life were her family and her closest friends, especially her girlfriends. She has had friendships that have stood the test of time & proved that the family you create for yourself is just as important as the family you came from. Planning several additional holidays throughout the year to ensure we celebrated with everyone she loved. She was what I liked to call, a New Lenox Socialite, we could not go anywhere without running into all her friends, stopping to make time for everyone, something that made grocery shopping dreadfully long.
I hope we remember my grandmother as someone who was always laughing, providing a smile and friendly face to whoever may need it. I’ll remember her in the little moments in life, when packing a suitcase, laughing with friends, eating my favorite meal, hugging my family or when I’m eating a lemon square that doesn’t taste quite the same. I hope you all can remember her in these little moments too.
Services for Laura will be held on Thursday, January 9th at Kurtz Memorial Chapel, 102 E. Francis Road in New Lenox with a visitation from 3-8pm. A celebration of life will be held at the New Lenox VFW Post#9545 on Saturday, January 11th from 2pm until 6pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to the National Kidney Foundation in Laura’s name would be appreciated.
Thursday, January 9, 2025
3:00 - 8:00 pm (Central time)
Kurtz Memorial Chapel Ltd
Saturday, January 11, 2025
2:00 - 6:00 pm (Central time)
New Lenox VFW
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