John Joseph Regan

John Joseph Regan, 88, passed away July 27, 2024. Born on December 22, 1935 in New Bedford, MA. John was the youngest of four children born to Pamelia and Jeremiah Regan of Fairhaven, MA. His father had passed away three months before his birth. John grew up and attended school in Fairhaven, leaving early to join the Air Force in 1953. He was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD during which time his technical acumen became apparent. Thanks to a friend whose family owned a ranch there, John also became proficient at milking cows, riding horses, roping steers and slopping hogs. Inspired to complete his education, he earned his GED and enrolled in South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. After returning home to Fairhaven in 1958, John met and married Lucille Rock (Lucy), was accepted at Tri-State College in Angola, IN, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1960. This led to a highly successful 30 year career designing, building, installing, testing and managing the delivery of Naval training devices for aviation, surface and submarine forces. 

Starting in private industry with American Car and Foundry John and Lucy moved to Brunswick, ME in 1962, where they became parents and welcomed John Patrick and Shawn Michael. This was followed by a number of career growth opportunities with Singer Corporation’s Simulations Division in Maryland and the US Naval Training Device Center in Port Washington, NY. While living in Glen Cove, Long Island, daughter Colleen Heather was added to the growing family. Next came a move to the Naval Training Equipment Center in Orlando, FL where John worked in project and staff engineer roles from 1965 to 1974. While there, son Kevin Scott was born. In January 1974 the family moved to Pensacola where John became Training Device Manager for surface and submarine training. 

In 1978 John’s and Lucy’s marriage ended and split custody of their four children. They always remained friends, sharing birthdays and holidays together with their children and grandchildren. 

Later that year John fell in love with Jennifer Farrell, a teacher with the public school system. They married in 1979 at Little Flower Catholic Church with a reception at the Mustin Beach Officers’ Club at Pensacola Naval Air Station. With split custody of the four kids between John and Lucy, Jennifer, John, John Patrick and Shawn became a blended family with Jennifer’s two cats. Once the kids had left the nest John accepted a promotion with the Department of the Navy, Strategic Systems Program Office in Washington, DC in 1983. There he was responsible for directing and managing the overall activation of the TRIDENT Training Facility at the Submarine Base in Kings Bay, GA. This included financial planning, budgeting, acquisition and life cycle maintenance of all course materials and equipment. By 1989 he and Jen were ready to come “home” to Florida. Recognized for his outstanding accomplishments in building the submarine training facility there, John was able to secure the job of Director of Information Systems reporting to the Commanding Officer. While there his responsibilities expanded to financial management of the Base. He was sent to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA to become certified as a Comptroller and became a member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. 

In 1991 John retired from Department of the Navy and briefly worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida in Jacksonville, FL prior to full retirement in 1992. 

John was a brilliant man blessed with the ability to analyze complex information and also see the big picture. Throughout his career he received numerous awards and recognition for outstanding leadership and delivery of superior results as with the completion of the submarine training facility. He loved troubleshooting whether it involved solving a computer problem or fixing the car and encouraged the kids to help so they too could become proficient. A deep thinker who often ruminated over life, the human race, and relationships, John wrote poetry, even-copyrighting one of his books. He was also a romantic, writing countless poems to Jennifer, the love of his life. At the same time he was funny, always the life of the party with a knack for joke-telling. After retirement, John got serious with his golf and played with a number of groups including one which he proudly dubbed “The Golf Dogs”. Boating was another passion with many a day spent cruising the river with Jen in their Chaparral. They loved dancing too. More than anything, John was a devoted husband to Jennifer. He loved nothing more than spending time with Jen in his home on Golden Pond in Fairfield, Ponte Vedra Beach, where he would spend hours watching the birds and squirrels, ducks, egrets, herons and the majestic magnolia tree outside the sunroom overlooking the lake. 

John is survived by his wife of 45 years, Jennifer; sons John Patrick (Judy), and Kevin; daughter Colleen Mrvica (Steve), daughter-in-law Elizabeth, three grandchildren: Adrian (Chandler), Carmen and Lily; and his first wife, Lucy. He also leaves behind numerous nieces and nephews and his three beloved cats: Higgins, Becca and Lucky. He is predeceased by son Shawn (Elizabeth), his mother Pamelia, father Jeremiah, brothers Daniel and Jerry, and sisters, Mary and Teresa. 

A Committal Service will be held at Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, FL, at 1:30, Friday, September 6, 2024, followed by interment. A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite animal charity or local shelter.