Regina Lombardo Deering 1924-2013 In Memoriam

Here's the corrected version of the video "See You on the Other Side"! Can't believe we didn't notice the wrong title frame till now! Sorry Mom! Doh! https://youtu.be/0UWI2_7BR70

See You On The Other Side Lyric Video Doctor Paul, Songwriter ©2017 Doctor Paul is a Professor by day, and a singer-songwriter during the rest of his waking hours. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock n Roll Hall o...

Full moon rising over Honey's Beach this evening. And Nicole and I saw two manta rays getting jiggy in the surf -- guess that moon works its magic on all species!

Nicole and I took Mom out today on her birthday for her final swim. We were waiting for a tranquil, snorkelling kind of day -- instead, Mom brought us 2 foot surf. So we used a paddle board to bring her out beyond the break and spread her ashes and a couple of her own special Reggie Roses to swim with the honu for eternity. Kailua Beach Access 89B is right by our house - and it's Mom's 89th birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you and miss you!

Photogenic from birth onward....

As told by MJ Nelson at the Memorial Celebration:
The Cleaning Woman & The Bridge Players
A cleaning woman was applying for a new position. When asked why she left her last employment, she replied, "Yes, sir, they paid good wages, but it was the most ridiculously undignified place I ever worked. They played a game called Bridge.

Last night a lot of folks were there. As I was about to bring in the refreshments, I heard a man say, "Lay down and let's see what you've got." Another man said, "I've got strength, but no length." Another man says to the lady, "Take your hand off my trick!"

I pretty near dropped dead just then, when the lady answered, "You jumped me twice when you didn't have the strength for one raise."
Another lady was talking about protecting her honor and two other ladies were talking and one said, "Now it's time for me to play with your husband and you can play with mine."

Well I just got my hat and coat and as I was leaving, I hope to die if one of them didn't say, "Well, I guess we'll go home now. This is the last rubber."

You know Mom was laughing up a storm in heaven at that one!

Regina's Eulogy - Delivered by Paul D. Deering at her Celebration Reception at Judson Park Home. February 6, 2013.
Aloha! Welcome! Aloha means Love, Friendship, Compassion – very appropriate words to use when speaking about Regina Lombardo Deering. She embodied those values throughout her life.
My name is Paul Deering – I’m number three of Regina’s four sons. I would like to share a few memories and insights about Mom here today, and then invite you all to do the same. Special thanks to all who traveled to be here, and to those who shared photos and stories about Regina.
I want to offer condolences to all who are here – We have lost a Mother, a sister, a grandmother and a great-grandmother – “But call me Honey, not Grandma!” Just like her dad – “Call me DJ, not Grandpa! And tell people I’m your brother!” – which usually convinced most everybody! We have also lost a relative, a dear friend, and a bridge partner.
However, Mom passed without pain, and in peace. And with loved ones at her side We should all be so fortunate! Regina had loved ones with her right to the end. She got to share cake and a nip of scotch in her hospital room on my birthday, the 28th of January, and she passed one day after Nicole’s February first birthday. So this is a celebration. Mom specified that, as well as numerous details about this gathering – a whole page worth!
You know that Mom is already swapping gossip with her beloved sister Pat up there – I can just hear Pat saying, “Kid!” Regina’s now sitting down to pasta with marinara and sausage and meatballs with her parents, Rosie and DJ, and all those who have gone before! So this is indeed, a celebration!
I would like to start by introducing some people. First, Regina’s siblings and their families: Patricia Winkel’s children; Jack Lombardo; Dave Lombardo; Mary Jo Boler. And Regina’s kids and their families: Jack; Mark; myself; Brigitte; Patrick; and Mollie.
I would also like to offer special thanks and acknowledgments to some people. First, Mom’s sister Mary Jo and her husband John Boler, who have made it possible for Mom to live in comfort and peace and safety here at Judson for six years. Next, my brother Patrick and his wife JC – for serving as tireless chauffer, valet, shopping safari guides and all-around BFFs for Mom for years! And Judson Park, fondly known as “Club Jud” by our family – to all the staff and residents who have shown such love and care for Mom as well as all of us. This is way more than a job to the Judson staff. Also, to Hospice of Western Reserve, for easing Mom and the family’s stresses through this very tough time – they have been angels of mercy for all of us. Mahalo!
I would now like to share some of Regina’s achievements, characteristics and passions before offering you a chance to do the same. Mom was very loving and generous, as so many of you have shared in talking with us. She was never too tired to listen to any of her six kids, her family members or her friends. She was always there to pick us back up and give us encouragement, or to whack us with her wooden cooking spoon or a shoe, or give a dose of Tabasco in the mouth if we said a bad word! A friend from Judson noted how Mom reached out to her and helped her meet people when she had just moved here, and helped get her in with the “cool girls” group! That’s the kind of person Mom was.
Regina was also disciplined, hard-working, smart, and had a great sense of humor. She graduated from Our Lady of Peace Grade School, Notre Dame Academy for high school, and earned a Bachelor and Masters degree from Notre Dame College back in the days when few women went to college at all! And Mom raised six kids, none of whom are in prison! At least currently! Mom was a great cook: Italian cuisine, of course – with pasta sauce seeming to simmer constantly. She was also very adventurous in the kitchen – she put seafood, and other delicacies in front of us kids regularly. She baked cakes and pies from scratch. Mom was a fearless experimenter, serving up hamloaf, for example, which I notice that Judson has on the menu today! I remember an adventure with Roast Duck where the poor bird shrank to nothing in the oven and was greeted by eight pairs of hungry eyes while looking like an emaciated pigeon! I think we dined on PB&J that night!
Regina was a voracious reader throughout her life, including novels, news magazines and newspapers. She could talk politics, economics, and philosophy, you name it -- right up to the end. In fact, forty-eight hours before she passed, Mom laughed and rolled her eyes at a cheesy Irish joke I told her.
Mom was very much a lover of beauty. She made her own clothes for years, including many of the outfits in the photos we just showed. And she taught sewing to a bunch of incorrigible neighborhood girls. Mom was also a 10th degree black belt shopper! And now she has an unlimited credit line at the Chico’s and Coldwater Creek shops in heaven – so look out! Mom helped redesign a good portion of Judson Park Home, including the lobby leading into this auditorium. So you know she’s already working on a makeover up in heaven – with furniture from her favorite shop – Sedlak’s!
And speaking of beauty, Mom was a big fan of Paul Newman. So you can be sure she’s already invited him over to her table in heaven’s dining room to sample some of her and Rosie’s cooking! Sometimes Mom’s pursuit of beauty could get ugly, however – she informed Nicole and me at the hospital last week that she likes men with flat butts and her boys have flat butts! I ran out of the room screaming, causing a Code Blue response from the nurses! Mom also loved George Clooney. She had a favorite photo of him that is one of the items that was sent into the hereafter with her. Regina and George forever.
Regina was a music lover – Swing; Frank and Ella; Country – but not bluegrass!; even some rock and folk, especially my brother Jack’s playing and singing of Dylan and Paul Simon tunes. Mom acquired a taste for Jimmy Buffett tunes too. She noted that she liked that song, “Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Spoon!” She was rather surprised to learn that the last word in the chorus was Screw, not Spoon!
Mom was also a humanitarian, a tireless worker for good causes. She was active in Kappa Gamma Pi and the Christ Child Society – two Catholic service and charity organizations. Mom was on the Lady’s Guild at St. Ann’s Parish, where we held the memorial mass. Mom was also on the resident governance committee at Judson. I told her they should steal Al Capp’s “Lil Abner” comic strip acronym of SWINE – originally it was Students Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything, in the Vietnam War days. So their Club Jud group could adjust it to - Seniors Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything!
Regina was a very strong, resilient person – a survivor. Again, those six kids! Mom had a heck of a pain threshhold. She had been through so many surgeries in the past few decades that the local hospitals gave her a “Frequent Surgery Card” – Every 10th one is on the house! Mom kept her cool through numerous trips to the emergency room with us kids. She got to where she had ESP and would know before she got the phone call that one of us was racked up again! And Mom also survived a few visits by police officers escorting one of her angels home.
Some of the things that Regina held dear included her faith. She was a devoted Catholic. And a liberated one – Mom was a thinker. She loved to talk theology with her cousin Fr. Louis Trivison, “Fr. Bud”, himself a very progressive Catholic. So you can bet that they an appointment to see the Guy in Charge up there and offer some input on today’s Catholic Church!
Mom loved to travel and learn. She looked forward to the annual migrations with the snowbirds to Florida, and to Chicago for the 4th of July. She’s been to Rome, California, Hawaii, and even to Madison Ohio! Mom traveled recently to the Canadian Rockies and to the North Carolina coast on her own with tour groups – well into her eighties.
Regina was also a big sports fan – specifically a Browns fan! So you know that she’s giving Art Modell some major grief. Of course, she’s up there and he’s down there so she’ll have to shout pretty loud for him to hear!
And Mom was a legendary bridge lover! A full-on shark! She’s got 24/7 games going on in heaven already! All the bids up there are 7s and you make ‘em every time! Mostly No-Trumps with an occasional Spade bid thrown in just to break things up. Just three weeks ago Mom went to her Monday bridge game here at Judson hooked to an oxygen tank, and she won the high-stakes $1 pool!
So what have I learned from Regina?
o Accept others. Do not judge, lest ye be judged.
o Wear clean underwear and socks in case you have to go to the hospital – I regularly ignored that advice but could have used it at least twenty times!
o Keep on learning, loving, laughing, smiling!
o Drink the good stuff, wear the good stuff.
o No matter what you’re suffering -- Offer it up for the poor souls suffering in Purgatory!
o In hard times, just put on some lipstick and a smile, and put one foot in front of the other.
Regina was one of a kind! She lived on her terms, she passed on her terms, she’s throwing this party on her terms with people she loves! Thank you Regina! We love you! You will be with us always!