Regina Revard (1925 - 2006)

Born 25 Oct 1925 in Mount Clemens, Macomb, Michigan, United States

Ancestors

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Biography

Note

Note: Online eulogy located at http://www.lifestorynet.com/print_lifestory.php?obitid=9153

LIFE STORY:

Regina Kalisiak was a soft-hearted, kind, considerate woman, a woman full of love in everything she did. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and maybe her favorite, great-grandmother. She was famous for her beautiful handmade creations. Those ornate works were filled with Regina's creativity, talent and love, which she always had in abundance, and was always too happy to share.

Regina was born on October 5, 1925, on a cool Monday in Mount Clemens, the sixth of 16 children born to Richard and Viola (Bushey) Rivard. Those were difficult times for so many in this country, in the days just before the Great Depression, and the Rivard family was no different. The family suffered terrible illnesses, with six of Regina's siblings dying of the flu, scarlet fever, or diphtheria with one from a burst appendix, all before she turned eleven years old. Then Regina's father died just after Regina was married. Her mother was an amazing woman in her own right, and always had a great relationship with her children.

Raised as a devout Catholic, Regina attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Mount Clemens, and after school she loved to roller skate and play with her siblings. And in the tough times of the 30s and leading up to World War II, everyone had to do their part, so Regina went to work in a war factory as soon as she was able.

Regina met a man named Othniel Lawson, and the two married in 1946, when she was 21. Together the couple had three children, Ronald in 1947, Patrick in 1954, and Kathleen in 1956. Regina made a wonderful mother, of course. She was a meticulous homemaker, and so kind, so soft-hearted, she could never bear to see her children go without.

The family moved to Kalamazoo in '56, where her marriage to Othniel ended in divorce. But having witnessed her mother's perseverance, Regina attended beauty school and became a beautician. Regina thenwent to work at Cunningham Nursing Home. She had found a career that suited her well, cooking and caring, for a lot of people with her compassionate personality.

Soon Regina met a man named Kenneth Kalisiak, introduced to her through mutual friends, and the two fell in love, marrying in 1969, and she moved to Plainwell. She later attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College to take nursing classes. Sadly, Kenneth died in 1987, after 18 happy years of marriage.

Regina retired the following year, in 1988, giving her ample time to do what she loved best: spending time with her family. It was a family that was now blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she loved them all so much. Her refrigerator was like a window into her heart, completely covered with pictures of her beloved family. The birth of every new grandchild or great-grandchild was so special to her, but she always loved hearing good news. She was such a proud grandmom, and lovingly created so many baby blankets, ornaments and other needlework for them. Some of her grandchildren only use her handmade ornaments on their Christmas trees.

Regina was such a creative, talented woman, with a great sense of color, and of humor, and of life. She was a naturally positive person, who loved to play bingo and visit Las Vegas. She loved to cook,and made her special Elderberry jelly every year. She also collected music boxes, a hobby she shared with her grandchildren. She shared so much with them, and would have done anything for them. She even went roller skating with them once, rekindling that love from her youth, but fell and broke her wrist.

Regina might have been kind and soft-hearted, but never soft-spoken. She was an infamous back-seat driver, being the strong-minded, independent and expressive person she was, full of life and energy and creativity.

Regina was a woman full of all of those things, and was always happy to share her talents with others. Like the ornate needlework she created, Regina was filled with beauty, talent and love. It's thatlove and that beauty that we remember today, remembering a great woman, a great mother, and a great lady.

Regina M. Kalisiak, age 80 of Plainwell, died Wednesday, January 4, 2006 at Borgess Hospital. She was born October 5, 1925 in Mount Clemens, Michigan to Richard and Viola (Bushey) Rivard. She has resided in Plainwell since 1956. Regina was a member of St. Margaret's Catholic Church of Otsego. She had been employed by the Life Care Center of Plainwell for 15 years, retiring in 1988. Learn more about Regina, View her Life Story film, and visit with her family and friends Friday from 5-8 p.m. at the Life Story Funeral Home Plainwell Chapel. A Rosary service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at the same location. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Margaret's Catholic Church, Otsego. Members of Regina 's family include her daughter, Kathleen Hagen of Plainwell, a son Patrick Lawson of Lawrence, 21 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren, sisters Violet Nielsen of Mt. Clemens, Isabell Atchison of Redford, brother Herman (Mary) Rivard of Mt. Clemens. She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth in 1987, a son Ronald Lawson in 1977, sisters, Amelia Rivard, Julia Dalrymple, June and Mary Rivard, brothers Leander, Franklin, Christopher, Ronald, Richard, Fredrick, Peter and Dennis Rivard. Please visit Regina's web page, at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can read her life story, archive a favorite memory, order flowers or make a memorial contribution tothe American Cancer Society.

Sources

• United States Census, 1920
• United States Census, 1940