Teacher, athlete, life of the party. Born Nov. 14, 1958, in Halifax. Died June 8, 2011, in Halifax of cancer, aged 52.
If I had a dime for everyone who told me John Regan was the best teacher they ever had, I would be rich.
John started his career in 1981 as a physical education teacher and ascended to the administrative level as a high-school vice-principal. He was the kind of teacher who loved to play basketball with his students instead of directing them from the sidelines. He saw the good in the most difficult of kids and encouraged other teachers to see it, too.
Yet having fun with his family and friends was what he truly lived for; he was a Maritimer through and through.
The fifth child of Jack and Genevieve's nine children, he had four brothers close in age. Not only were they brothers, they were friends and teammates in hockey, baseball and paddling. For the past 20 years, they played gentlemen's hockey together.
At Dalhousie University, John ran for the cross-country team, which occasionally conflicted with his social life. He showed up one morning for practice nursing a hangover. His coach told him to go home, but John insisted he could run a five-minute mile and away he went around the track. He clocked in at 5:01.
Then he met Debbie Roberts, a beautiful scientist who liked to laugh as much as John. They married in 1984 and remained the best of friends. Their two children, Peter and Julia, were his proudest achievements. If he wasn't playing street hockey with Peter, he was coaching Julia's ringette team.
John's athleticism was legendary. When he pulled out his wooden driver, 30 years old and held together with duct tape, other golfers were doubtful. By the end of the game, they were always happy. No matter how far into the woods they had hooked their ball, John trotted in and came back with their ball and a handful of others.
His passion for sports equalled his passion for having fun. If he wasn't planning a party, he was the life of one. And if there was a microphone in the vicinity, he would find it and practice his rendition of Barrett's Privateers. His gregarious personality was infectious, his energy and enthusiasm tireless. John's walking pace was most people's jog. He snapped his fingers as he strode along, while the rest of the world tried to keep up.
Diagnosed with a rare sarcoma last September, he went to war with cancer. He forced himself up and around, surgery after surgery, trying to strengthen and heal.
As the medics rolled him down the hall to palliative care, he sang them a ditty. When doctors told him there was nothing more they could do, he thanked them profusely, never losing his grace, humour and kindness.
Although his cancer couldn't be beaten, cancer never did beat John. He was in every way a winner.
Deanna Regan Wigmore is John's sister.