Jay Dean RegehrApril 18, 1940 – September 10, 2026

Jay Dean Regehr, 86, died September 10, 2026, in Southlake, Texas, after a short battle with cancer. Just weeks earlier, he had moved from Florida to Southlake to be closer to his family.

Jay was born April 18, 1940, in Hutchinson, Kansas, to Bennie and Linda (Friesen) Regehr and grew up in Inman, Kansas, as the oldest of four children. A 1958 graduate of Inman High School, Jay was remembered from his school days as someone who enjoyed a good prank and was friends with everyone.

After high school, Jay moved to Denver to attend electrician school but soon chose a different path and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in March 1961. He spent three years aboard ship in the South Pacific, traveling to Hawaii, Okinawa, Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong. He returned to Kansas in 1964 and completed the final two years of his service in the Marine Corps Reserve, ending his service in December 1966. His time as a Marine remained a meaningful and important part of his life.

After returning to Kansas, Jay worked in construction and later as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in McPherson. He married Judith (Janzen) on March 20, 1965, and they made their home outside Inman, where they raised their two children, Julie and Jerry.

In the early 1970s, Jay started Regehr Fence Company, eventually making it his full-time career. In 1982, Jay and Judith purchased the grocery store in Inman as well as the building next door. They donated the wall of that building for the Inman Centennial mural, a piece of the community that remains part of their family’s connection to their hometown.

Family life often included their RV, with weekends at the lake and trips throughout the western United States. With two businesses to run, time away wasn’t always easy to find, but Jay and Judith made the most of it. They traveled to London in the early 1980s, and after their children graduated from high school, they moved to Las Vegas in 1989, where Jay worked with his sister Jolene. While living in Nevada, Jay and Judith enjoyed exploring the Grand Canyon, Death Valley and other state and national parks throughout the West.

Jay and Judith retired to Granbury, Texas, in 2004. After Judith’s death in September 2006, following more than 41 years of marriage, Jay moved to Florida in 2008. There he met Chris, and they were married on January 14, 2012. Together, Jay and Chris continued his love of RV travel, traveling extensively throughout the United States and Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, both on their own and with RV groups.

Wherever Jay lived, he found ways to put his hands and skills to work for others. He volunteered countless hours with Habitat for Humanity in both Las Vegas and Granbury, receiving several awards in recognition of his service. He also participated in three episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition—two in Las Vegas and one in Fort Worth—helping with furniture and specialty builds. He loved being part of projects that brought people together to create something for someone else.

After moving to Florida, Jay became a Master Gardener and volunteered as facilities manager at the Navarre Beach Butterfly House. It became a true passion project. He especially enjoyed working alongside the other volunteers to design, build and care for the gardens.

Jay was a member of Inman Mennonite Church and later Spring Valley Baptist Church in Las Vegas.

At heart, Jay was a quiet tinkerer who enjoyed laughing with his friends. He could fix almost anything and was rarely without a project. A chronic hobbyist, he moved enthusiastically from one interest to another, with favorites over the years including leatherwork, stained glass, remote-control airplanes and trains, and wooden models.

But some of his favorite projects were the ones he shared with his family. Jay loved being a dad and a grandpa. When Julie and Jerry were growing up, he and Judith attended their sporting events, musical performances and school activities and served as class parents on school trips. Later, he loved doing projects with his grandchildren, whether making cement molds of their little hands, building a model together or simply finding something they could make.

Jay is survived by his wife, Chris Regehr; his daughter, Julie Sizemore and husband Scott of Keller, Texas, and their children Sydney Sizemore her fiancé Connor Gill and Jayden Sizemore; his son, Jerry Regehr of Leavenworth, Kansas, and his children Jamie Regehr, Jody Regehr and Allyson Regehr; his great-grandchildren, Jessica and Dean; his sister, Linda Smith of Inman, Kansas; his brother, Ron Regehr and wife Carla of Valley Center, Kansas; and 11 nieces and nephews with whom he shared close relationships throughout his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bennie and Linda (Friesen) Regehr; his wife, Judith (Janzen) Regehr; and his sister, Jolene (Regehr) Leonard.

Jay’s life took him from a small Kansas town to the South Pacific, across the American West and throughout the country, but wherever he went, he was most at home with a project in front of him and people he cared about nearby. He leaves behind not only the things he built, fixed, planted and created, but the memories he made with the family and friends who shared those experiences with him.

Jay will be cremated, a Celebration of Life and a graveside service will be held October 17 at Inman Funeral Home in Inman, Kansas.