Mr. Philip Martin Rego

Philip Martin Rego was born in Fall River, MA on October 10, 1947, to Dennis Silva Rego and Zoe Martin Rego. He died on April 13, 2022 in his home in Chapel Hill, NC. He was surrounded by his beloved family and friends after a fierce battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma. An avid gardener, poet, spiritual aspirant and truth-seeker, Philip was never much interested in living an ordinary life; instead, he lived by his own rules. 

Philip grew up in Charlotte from the age of two until he moved to Chapel Hill to attend UNC. In his twenties, Philip was transformed: after recurring dreams of a plane crash, he survived a real-life version of the dream. In these moments near death, Philip experienced a sublime “going home” to reunite with the divine. From that moment on, he spent his days seeking the truth and spent his time with people on “the path.” 

In the 1970s, Philip toured the country seeking the wisdom of various spiritual teachers and gurus, while he developed his own cosmology of a reality filled with bliss and connection. Philip also had a very strong connection with Jesus Christ, along with his own cherished experience of Christianity without dogma or god-fearing. Instead, he viewed Jesus, or “Yeshua” as he called him (Jesus’s original name in Hebrew), as a man who simply wanted to show his fellow brothers and sisters how to live in the beauty of God together. He believed each of us is no different than Christ. 

In 1976, at the Full Moon Fire Dragon Circle Dance near Chapel Hill, Philip met his future wife, Carol Verner. They raised two boys together, Leif and Daniel, and even after separating, continued their lifelong and ever-deepening friendship until the end. Together they hosted spiritual retreats and nurtured a close-knit community of families that included organic farmers, builders, artists, dancers and musicians. Poetry, plays and songs were born out of this family of friends, inspiring many and continuing to do so today. 

Philip’s love of the arts was perpetuated through his sons, who he proclaimed to be the greatest part of his life, manifesting in Leif’s passion for music and Daniel’s for cinematography. He listened to classical music in secret as a child, and in his last days spoke reverently of the emotional realms of J.S. Bach, even ensuring that his last breaths be accompanied by those melodies. They were played for him many times by his friend, virtuoso violinist Jennifer Curtis. 

Philip moved to Santa Cruz, CA in 1990 and split time between East and West Coasts for the next two decades before returning to Chapel Hill fulltime, where he spent much of his time perfecting his garden sanctuary. Here, Philip intimately cared for and cultivated an innumerable variety of flowers, plants and trees.

An enigmatic character till the end, Philip remains loved by his friends of all ages, his spirit children, son Daniel and his wife Natalia, best friend Carol, brother David Rego and his wife Connie, niece Jodi Rego Seidenand her husband Eric, and niece Casey Rego Young and her husband Brad. His loved ones take comfort in knowing he is now reunited with his son Leif, who passed away in 2011, and his brother Buddy who passed away in March, 2022. Today, Philip’s garden thrives and will live on as a memorial to the grace and beauty with which he lived his life. 

A Celebration of Life will be held in honor of Philip Rego on Saturday, May 14, at 2:00 PM at the Union Grove United Methodist Church, located at 6407 Union Grove Church Rd, Hillsborough, NC 27278. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Philip’s honor to the Meher Spiritual Center in Myrtle Beach, SC at mehercenter.org/donate/

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