John Rego (1940-2024)
John Augustus Rego, 83, of Glennallen, Alaska, peacefully departed this world with family at his side December 14, 2024, of natural causes. Born on December 15, 1940, to Dorothea and Joao Rego in Providence, Rhode Island, John was adventurous from the start. As an Eagle Scout, he embraced the outdoors early, a love that stayed with him throughout his life.
John had a long and decorated military career, serving in the U.S. Air Force, Army Special Forces Airborne Ranger 82nd Division, Delta Force, and both the Rhode Island and Alaska National Guards. His service took him to the Bay of Pigs, Iran, and three tours in Vietnam, as well as postings across Alaska, where he worked with the Eskimo Scouts. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 26 years, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts for his bravery.
Between assignments John earned his geology degree from the University of Rhode Island and used it in his second career as a mining geologist for the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska. During these 24 years, he also raised his two sons, teaching them how to hunt, fish, trap, garden, and solve problems in the wilds of 1980s Gakona and Glennallen. His work took him to remote mining claims across the state, as well as many summers as a wildland firefighter with the Alaska Fire Service, where he made lifelong friends and gathered stories that he loved to share.
He was an avid runner, reader, sheep hunter, swiftwater rescue and flight instructor for many years. Whether hunting in Alaska and Africa or traveling to Chile and New Zealand, he relished every adventure. His optimistic attitude and sense of humor earned him volumes of great stories and a highly specialized vocabulary that often lightened the mood or complemented tense situations by reminding folks not to take things unnecessarily too seriously: “Nobody’s getting shot, nobody’s dying here,” and “I didn’t sign up for this goat rope,” were applied evenly to chaotic office meetings or field excursions.
Despite his gruff demeanor, John valued people and never hesitated to help someone in need. He enjoyed sharing a good conversation and cared more about experiences than material things, preferring the company of family and friends, and the thrill of adventure over anything else. He loved his family, and found great joy spending time with his grandkids.
He lived by the words of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 speech, “Citizenship in a Republic”: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
He is survived by his sons John (Susan) of Wasilla; Michael (Victoria) of Nabesna; and five grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents and younger siblings Gerald and Paula. He will be deeply missed, but his adventurous spirit will live on in the memories of those who knew him.
Memorial donations may be made in John’s name to Wounded Warriors Family Support, https://wwfs.org/ A celebration of life will be held at the lodge at Mile 28 Nabesna Road, June 7, 2025.