She was the little girl with the blonde ponytail and the vivacious smile … the girl who was fun and funny, with a unique zest for life … the girl who was always friendly and who reached out to the kids who didn’t quite fit in … the girl who was as sweet and beautiful on the inside as she looked.

Adored by her close-knit family - mom, Wendy; dad, Ricky; and brother, Matt. the Regan family loved to be together and loved to have fun – and fun they had. Alison’s childhood was filled with love, laughter, lots of friends, and wonderful family adventures. Her family and friends were always her rock and to this day remain her biggest supporters.

Alison was also a team player, playing basketball, softball, track, and soccer throughout her formative years, growing up in Milton, Massachusetts. Her coaches remember her as having lots of energy and personality—always with that beautiful smile.

Alison wasn’t always an excellent student, but she listened intently, and with sensitivity and intuition. Education was important to her, and she took many babysitting and childcare jobs outside the classroom to pay her own way through college. She was independent that way, even turning down her parent’s offer to buy her a new car. She preferred to take care of herself.

Alison's passion for children led her to become a ‘Big Sister’ to a young lady in Randolph, and while working full-time, earned her Associate’s Degree from Quincy College. She transferred to UMass Boston to complete her core studies, and proudly earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Curry College in 2008, majoring in Sociology and early childhood education.

Always caring and hard-working, she didn’t choose an easy career. She chose to work with children on the autism spectrum—children who are among those most in need.
She landed a teaching job at the Boston Higashi School, a specialized school for autistic children.
Alison devoted herself with typical energy and enthusiasm to her job. According to her dad, the only two photographs she had saved on the two-gigabyte cellphone her parents had given her for her birthday were of children with autism. She loved her job, and was loved in return by students and fellow teachers alike.

Too soon, the life of this beautiful, vibrant, caring and compassionate young woman was tragically cut short. Just 25 years old, she was the victim of an automobile accident, when a car driven by a man under the influence of drugs, traveling in the wrong lane, hit her car head on.

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Her memory, and her dream of teaching children lives on, however, through the Alison Mae Regan Memorial Fund (AMRMF). An all-volunteer scholarship fund, established in her honor by friends and family, to help provide young men and women with financial aid they may need to further their education, and their dreams!

Alison is no doubt looking down wearing that big, beautiful smile.

AMRMF Links