Richard Regert, 76, died Friday, December 13, at Fresno Kaiser Hospital following his ten-month fight with lung cancer.
He was born September 7, 1943, in Granby, Missouri. He grew up in Merced. He is survived by his wife Sharon Regert; his sister Claudia Vest of Citrus Heights; his sons William Regert of Johnson City, Tennessee, and Christopher Regert of Coarsegold; stepchildren Stephanie Abercrombie of Simi Valley and Matthew Watts of North Fork. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents Walt and Gwen Regert, of Oakhurst, his daughter Sandra Regert of Oakhurst, brother David Regert of Merced, sisters Doris Gimblin of Mariposa and Linda Ford of Medford, Oregon, and his nine-month-old great-granddaughter Marlee Burgdorf.
Richard was a sergeant in the United States Army from 1963-1965 and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
He gave 47 years of service to Farmers Insurance in the Fresno, Merced and Oakhurst communities. In 1966, he started his career with Farmers, became an agent in 1973, and in 1987 he purchased his father’s agency in Oakhurst and began The Regert Agency. Rich, his father, mother, sisters and brother all have worked for Farmers since 1951.
Richard was very involved in his community of Oakhurst and enjoyed volunteering. He was a past president of Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary. Richard retired in 2013 and enjoyed traveling, cooking, spending time with family and volunteering with Oakhurst CHP Senior Volunteer program. He also had a great love of gardening. Every year, his family always looked forward to the several delicious varieties of tomatoes and peppers that he grew.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Sierra Vista Presbyterian Church on January 11, 2020, at 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Oakhurst CHP Senior Volunteer Program. Checks should be made payable to SVP 456 Fund at P.O. Box 692, Oakhurst, CA 93644, or to Calvin Crest at 45800 Calvin Crest Road, Oakhurst, CA 93644.
