Thomas Joseph Regan

January 14, 1932 – March 31, 2019

Thomas was born in Elmwood Park, IL, the fifth child of James and Bessie Regan, who had immigrated from Co. Mayo in Ireland, in January of 1932. He was 87 years old at the time of his death in the midnight hour of the 31st of March. He is survived by his children, Catherine, Barbara and Thomas Regan as well as his grandchildren Gregory and Oliver Scheiwiller and Caitlyn Regan Sappia.

Thomas attended parochial school at St. Williams and St. Philips in Elmwood Park, IL where he grew up and went on to get his BA in US history at De Paul University in Chicago. He was drafted during his first year of law school and served in the Korean War from 1952-1954 as a corporal in the army. After being honorably discharged from active service he returned to Chicago to continue and finish his law degree at his beloved De Paul University.

Thomas began working in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office briefly working in juvenile law and then quickly moved on to specialize in criminal law. He went on to work in the US Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois and was appointed to a special unit, commissioned by the DOJ and the then acting Attorney General, RFK, to expose underworld activities across the country. As a federal prosecutor he litigated in cases that exposed hundreds of rackets across all types of businesses, entertainment, gambling, the courts, law enforcement, prostitution and even the government itself.

After many years working as a State and Federal prosecutor in which he worked on high-profile cases of national and local interest he switched his laser-like focus to civil law. At the law firm of Pope, Ballard, Shepard and Fowle Thomas worked as a civil litigator, specializing in real estate, employment, the automotive industry, state and federal highways, and general business law as a junior, then senior partner for the rest of his law career.

His fascination with history, ships, the ocean and music led him to travel the world, preferably on ships so that he could visit and learn about all of the places that held his interest. He was lightning fast with a satirical response, mocking and playing and laughing the hardest at his own remarks, commentary or jokes. His sense of humor and ability to speak at length about his favorite subjects could be highly entertaining as well as informative. We are happy that his long struggle with Alzheimers and cancer ended peacefully and that he is now free to make people laugh, his favorite thing to do, in the non-physical. Bye Dad we love you.