Regina "Regi" Hylek

Regina “Regi” Hylek, age 60 of East Chicago, IN passed away Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at home after a five-year journey with cancer.  Regi is survived by loving family: mother, Georgette (late Thomas, Sr.); Shista and best friend, Jill (late Steven) Carpenter; brothers: Thomas, Jr. and family, Christopher (Karen), and Nicholas (Darlene); loving nieces and nephews: Nathaniel and Sophie Carpenter, Brayden and Aubrie Hylek; and Corrine (Thomas) Butterworth (Seth, Jakob, and Hannah); numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends; best canine friend and caregiver, “Snowball Hylek”.  Preceded in death by her father, Thomas, Sr.; brother in-law, Steven Carpenter; grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Regi attended St. Mary Elementary School and graduated salutatorian of the East Chicago Roosevelt High School Class of 1982.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Teaching and a Master’s Degree in Integrating Technology into the Classroom.  During her lengthy work tenure, she held jobs at Brown’s Chicken, Lincoln Elementary, and Whiting High School where she taught English and Speech.  She was sponsor of the WHS Tattler for 23.5 years, and the Reflector for 13 years.  She also served as booster club sponsor and English department chairperson.  In recent years, she served as a lector at St. Mary Church in East Chicago.  Regi loved spending time with family and friends, going to concerts, loved 80’s alternative music, and spending time in the sun (both real and fake)

A gathering of family and friends will be held at the FIFE FUNERAL HOME, 4201 Indianapolis Blvd., East Chicago, IN from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Monday, March 4, 2024.  Rev. Terry Steffens will hold services at 6:00 pm on Monday.  In lieu of flowers, donations to Hospice of the Calumet Area or SHARE Foundation would be appreciated.  She wanted to say thank you to her family, doctors, nurses, and friends for their love and care over the years.  To share an online condolence, logon to www.fifefuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Regina "Regi" Hylek, please visit our floral store.