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View a eulogy for Richard Adrian Regnier, USMA '55, who passed away on February 15, 2016.

Richard Adrian Regnier

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by West Point 1955 on February 25, 2016:


Richard A. Regnier

Camarillo, CA

Richard Regnier, 84, passed away on February 14, 2016. He will always be remembered as a gentleman, a scholar, a true renaissance man. He lived by his guiding principles: duty, honor, country and the pursuit of excellence. A man of deep abiding faith and commitment to God and family, those whose lives he touched were forever changed.

He had the good fortune to be the son of Colonel Augustus Jerome Regnier, a Regimental Commander in Patton's 3rd Army, and Marietta Howland Regnier, a direct Mayflower descendant of John Howland who was washed overboard in a storm at time of crossing and saved. During WWII he lived on a rustic farm in North Windham, Maine woods with his mother and brother Tony. At age 14 in 1945 his family moved to war-torn Germany to join their father, the Deputy Commander of Nuremberg. It was a move that changed his life. Each day he walked to the American school set up for dependants in a city leveled by the vast destruction of war. Attending the Nuremberg War Crime Trials was part of his school curriculum. The experience sparked his life-long quest for justice.

After returning to the U.S., Dick attended Harvard University and later graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Commissioned in 1955, he entered the U.S. Air Force flight training program and served for four years as a master flight jet instructor pilot in Laredo, Texas and Morocco. His students gave him the call sign GIANT. While flying was his true passion, fighting wars was not. He chose to fight for justice instead. Dick was accepted to Bolt Hall Law School at U.C. Berkeley where he was elected president of his class and later the Law School student body president. After graduation, he took a position with the Ventura County District Attorney's office and later formed the law firm of Ferguson and Regnier. He practiced law for 53 years, served as president of the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association, and president of the American Inns of Court, received the prestigious Nordman Award and was a member of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. A few years ago he met Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner. When he proudly announced he had been a trial attorney for over 50 years, she replied, "That is a long time. You should be getting things right by now."

Dick's three great loves were baseball, dogs and golf. He pitched at Harvard, then went on to West Point as starting pitcher for four years. One of his favorite stories, and he was quite a storyteller, was during West Point's exhibition games against the NY Giants, he struck out Willie Mays four times. He had real heat in that arm! And he loved dogs, all dogs, but he had a special place in his heart for his English Bull dogs. At West Point when other cadets were dreaming about women, Dick would dream about dogs.

He loved to travel with his wife Georgie, the love of his life and soul mate, throughout Europe, Africa, Central and South America, India, New Zealand and beyond. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro twice at the age of 67 and 69 to raise money for the Honduran cleft lip and palate programs, then traveled to Honduras to help support the cleft programs spearheaded by Dr. William Starr of Ventura County. Together Georgie and Dick went to India to work with the Rotary International polio eradication program. Their lives together were truly filled with love, giving hearts and great adventure.

Perhaps Dick's greatest attribute was his generosity. His favorite motto was "Be kinder than necessary." He personally funded many students' college educations. He founded El Buen Hijo Scholarship Fund at Oxnard College and served as the Oxnard College Foundation's president, general counsel and board member for over 30 years. Always generous with his time, Dick touched many lives as a mentor, teacher, role model and friend. As a masterful speaker, he entertained, encouraged, inspired and motivated. He will be remembered for his intelligence, wit, humor, generosity and integrity.

Survived by his wife Georgianna, children Richard Regnier Jr., Lisa Capriotti (Dino), Dr. Augustus Jerome Regnier, (Dr. Marianne Regnier), Teresa Vastine (Todd), and their mother Maria Teresa Regnier, step children Elizabeth Kaplan (David), Brad Pennington (Mary), brother Tony Regnier (Dorothy), grandchildren Lorenzo and Dante Capriotti, Shane and Brianna Vastine, Isabelle, Ryan and Dolan Kaplan, nieces Antionette Welsh, Amie McClain and Laurel Regnier, nephew Jason Regnier.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the benefit of the Cleft Lip and Palate Program, Landon Pediatric Foundation, 3291 Loma Vista Rd, Bldg. 340, Suite 302, Ventura, California 93003.

Memorial services will be held at Padre Serra, 5205 Upland Rd., Camarillo on Saturday, February 20th at 1:00pm.


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