Regina A. Dieker

PRIVATE

 

Regina Angela Dieker, New Baden, IL

 

b. Feb. 4th, 1974

 

Regina meditated her way into the next life on April 4, 2019. Throughout her cancer treatments and efforts to heal, she kept a host of superheroes and action figures at her side for inspiration. Iron Man may have been her favorite, but Old Luke Skywalker joined in the later months. She very much wanted Jedi powers to meditate her way into the Force.

 

Her first love was Jon Bon Jovi, who she toured with in the early 90’s. Ask him and he will deny it like he has for years! His inner circle would often say about her that “She gave love a bad name!” In 1995, after a heated debate with Jon on the tour bus, Regina found herself thrown from the tour bus and right into the arms of Skip Kay.

 

Skip--also known as “some kind of saint”--and Regina created over 20 years of marriage. No one knows how, except for the Skip-is-some-kind-of-saint part. And when revealed, Regina’s heart was pure and the sweetest. Regina’s greatest loves and achievements were her marriage and her dear children, Abby (18) and Gabe Kay (14).  Regina loved being an aunt for Wendell (6) and Clara (4) Nunley, her nephew and niece.

 

Regina became a talented photographer who refused to take her previous neighbor up on his request of “tasteful” nudes. Her work covered newspaper photojournalism, weddings, births, and all life events. She saw everything with an artist’s eye and everyone knows there was no stopping her when she needed to capture a photograph. She stopped traffic, hung out windows, submerged herself in ponds, and made herself invisible to capture images. Regina also led spin and Pilates classes and loved organic gardening.

 

In 2018, Regina proudly achieved her 200 hour yoga certification and often mentioned that “It came with a really nice T-shirt!” Her yoga students followed her roving classes and she believed in meeting each person as he or she came and with the deepest energetic connection. At times, this involved yoga with goats.

 

She enjoyed coaching soccer and the friends she made with both parents and kids. She found it therapeutic to scream random things at children on the soccer field.

 

Regina was known to stand her ground and kept her principles. She once paid a late fee to the village over a water bill, in person, using only pennies.

 

Regina’s parents are Olivia and Gary Dieker. The other two Dieker girls are Bernadette Dieker Nunley (married to Bill Nunley) and Lucinda Dieker. Regina’s other mother is Jo Kay (Elizabethtown). Her co-gallivanter and sister-in-law is Kristy Kay (married to DJ Cyganiewicz). Her in-laws include Bill and Lisa Kay.

 

As her illness progressed, Regina joined the ALK-POSITIVE Facebook group. This lung cancer, which attacks non-smoking, healthy young people, is aggressive and rapidly mutates, making treatment extremely challenging and unique. Lung cancer research is ridiculously underfunded and lung cancer is largely misunderstood by the public. As a result, ALK-POSITIVE patients are the first group of patients to raise funds for their own research on immunotherapy.

 

Regina requests an interpretive dance in her honor be performed at this year’s New Baden Chili Cook-Off.

 

Regina will have a private, natural burial and plans for her memorial will be forthcoming.

 

Memorials in Regina’s honor may be given to the following organizations:

 

• LUNGevity: https://lungevity.org/for-supporters-advocates/support-our-work

• Pedal the Cause: https://www.mypedalthecause.org/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=128724&fbclid=IwAR3EVb9WAOra-F9MnWTmLJ-23m6QOJ9dFN6uMuTO68P-kF7YZCq8vwZmZ04

• Yoga Buzz: https://squareup.com/store/yoga-buzz/

 

“To those of you who found my medical marijuana stash - You’re Welcome!”