Regina East

Regina Woods East

  of Henderson passed away at her home on White Avenue, Thursday, August 8, 2024.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Sunday, August 11 at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue with Milton Sewell and Billy Smith officiating. Burial will follow at Henderson City Cemetery. Visitation will be Saturday, August 10 from 5-8 p.m. and beginning at 12 noon on Sunday until 2 p.m. service time. Pallbearers will be Steve Blank, Dustin Carroll, Jerry Hurde, Stacy Smith, Robin Smith, and Chris Tignor.

Regina was born June 10, 1936. Her parents were Kenneth Eugene and Martha Rebecca Christopher Woods. She grew up on Crook Avenue, attended school in Chester County, and graduated from Chester County High School.

After graduation from high school, she attended Freed-Hardeman College, David Lipscomb University in Nashville, and Memphis State University where she received a BS degree in Secondary Education with a minor in English. Her first teaching job was in Memphis at Delano Elementary.

She met Bob East at Freed-Hardeman when they were freshman. When Bob went into the Army, he was sent to Germany. Regina went to school in Nashville. When she finished school at Memphis State, Bob had returned from Germany and was working in Memphis with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They married in 1960 and continued to live in Memphis for a short time. In 1961, they moved to Henderson.

Regina was asked to substitute for a teacher the summer she and Bob came back to Henderson. She was then given the opportunity to teach English at Chester County High School. For the next twenty-nine years she enjoyed her experiences teaching English at Chester County High School. While teaching there, she thoroughly enjoyed being the cheerleader sponsor for most of her CCHS years. She was involved in the local teachers' association, TEA, WTEA, NEA, and Delta Kappa Gamma.

She was a member of the Henderson church of Christ and taught Bible classes there for more than twenty-five years. She was actively involved in fund raising events for the Freed-Hardeman Associates and served as president for a term.

Through the years she was involved with many organizations and received many honors.

She was a member of the Democratic Women's Club of Chester County and served as president of this organization. She was actively involved in several genealogical associations and served in state and national positions for almost all of them. She served as president of Henderson Station Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Other societies included the Daughters of the American Colonists, Daughters of the Seventeenth Century, Dames of the Court of Honor, Huguenot Society, Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of 1812, and the Chester County Historical Association.

She was a world traveler. She and Bob traveled whenever they could in the United States, Canada, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Bible Lands. She and her mother visited places far and near as well.

After the death of Bob, she became chairman of the board at Chester County Bank and spent most of her remaining active years in that position.

In 2014, she and her cousin, Larry Tignor, were instrumental in raising money to renovate Old Main on the campus of Freed-Hardeman University.

Her family and friends wish to express appreciation to her devoted and loving caregivers, Brandie Hurst, Kayla Hayden, Linda Gray, Lisa Hames, Verlene Burton, and other caregivers who were with Regina, if only for a short time.

She is survived by cousins, Rosanna Milling, Janice Haslett, Joy McKinnon, and Gina Nelson and special friends, Christine Carroll, Dr. Mary Ann Guinn, Kay Tignor and Jerry Hurde.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob Duff East in 1997 and her parents, Kenneth and Rebecca Christopher Woods.

Memorials may be made to Freed-Hardeman University or the East-Woods Scholarship Fund at Freed-Hardeman University.

Shackelford Funeral Directors of Henderson

731-989-2421