Nilda Rego

Nilda Rego, 99, of Milwaukie, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2026. Nilda was born February 13,1927 in Berkeley, California, to parents Jack Peruzzo and Gilia (Jacuzzi) Peruzzo. She graduated from Berkeley High School and then earned a degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkely. She married John D. Rego on November 12,1949 and spent the next year in the Bay Area, welcoming their first child, a daughter, before moving to Portland for her husband's job. Over the next 12 years they welcomed five more children, all boys, in a house filled with energy, joy, and laughter.

Nilda was a newspaper reporter for most of her adult life. Her first newspaper job was as society editor for the Martinez News-Gazette. After moving to Portland, she raised her six children while working for a weekly newspaper, The Clackamas Review. In 1969 they moved to Moraga, California and she went to work for the Concord Transcript (later The Contra Costa Times). She had a passion for the "small stuff" of local history and started writing a weekly history column for the Concord Transcript in 1987, continuing the column for 27 years until she retired in 2015 after 46 years at the paper. Her history columns were compiled into a series of three books titled "Days Gone By". After retiring, they relocated back to the Portland area, moving into Willamette View overlooking the river in Milwaukie.

Besides her writing, Nilda had a creative artistic passion. She was active in the art studio at Willamette View, producing collages, paintings, weavings and ceramics. She turned some of her works into two published children's books, melding her art into her writing.

An excellent cook, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, world traveler, community activist and successful writer, Nilda was truly an amazing woman. After 72 years of marriage, her husband John (Dan) died in 2022 at 94 years. Nilda is survived by her brother Peter Peruzzo, daughter Jackie (Bruce) Reeves, sons John (Deborah), Michael (Susan), Charles (Jennifer), and Frank (Bridget), twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sister Esther (Regula), and her son George.
Private memorial services are pending.