Nina V. Rapczynski

A Life Well Lived

Nina Valentina Rapczynski was born on April 30, 1932, in Berlin, Germany, to Viva Valentina Asgard and Tuerck. Born into a family of circus acrobats during World War II, Nina’s childhood was anything but ordinary. She joined the family’s circus act at a young age, and her childhood was shaped by the hardships of war as her family was separated across Europe.

Eventually, Nina, her aunt Mamusia, and her baby sister Victoria (Unus) McNeil found refuge in Spain. Her mother, Viva, had by then married Franz “The Great” Unus, the famed performer known for balancing on a single finger. In 1948, the family was brought to America by John Ringling to perform with the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. From then on, America became her home, and one of her greatest moments of pride was when she became a US citizen in 1973.

Her time in Ringling’s Circus was where Nina discovered her lifelong love for elephants, especially her beloved Kinowdi. Together, Nina and Kinowdi performed a daring act in which she would lie on her back in the center of the ring as Kinowdi took two steps forward, towering over her, and carefully placed her foot on Nina’s nose, a feat that, to this day, has never been replicated. Nina was featured many years later on ABC7 Sarasota News (Amazing Woman of the Suncoast: Nina Rapczynski) to recount her experiences and these remarkable stunts.

After appearing in the movie Wind Across the Everglades, Nina decided to leave the circus life behind. She settled in Harrison, New Jersey, where she met, fell in love with, and married Richard Thomas Rapczynski. Together, they raised three children: Matthew Richard Rapczynski, Kenneth Christopher Rapczynski, and Victoria (Rapczynski) Magee.

Determined to provide more for her family, Nina began working the night shift as a nurse’s assistant in 1969 at West Hudson Hospital in Kearny, New Jersey. After working in several departments, she found her calling in the operating room, where she became an OR technician in January 1976. It was an incredible accomplishment for a young woman with limited formal education and English as her second language.

Years later, following her mother’s passing and her husband’s retirement, Nina and Richard relocated to Sarasota, Florida, to be closer to her stepfather. There, she worked at Doctors Hospital and later became a private scrub nurse until her retirement. After losing Richard to complications from a double brain aneurysm, Nina devoted herself to her children and five grandchildren: Matthew Rapczynski, Christopher Rapczynski, Elyssa Magee, Sabrina (Magee) Jenkins, and Natasha Magee. She cherished when her granddaughters would visit from New Jersey, often laughing until tears streamed down her face as she shared stories from their mother’s rebellious younger days.

Nina loved watching Law & Order and Chicago Fire, and she eagerly waited for segments featuring her “boyfriend,” as she fondly called him, Lawrence O’Donnell, on MSNBC. Her mind remained sharp and spirited long after her body began to weaken.

Nina passed away peacefully on October 20, 2025, at the age of 93, surrounded by her loving family, her sister Victoria, her children Matthew, Kenneth, and Victoria, her granddaughters Elyssa, Sabrina, and Natasha, and her son-in-law Henry Magee.

Nina’s strength, humor, and love left a lasting impression on everyone who knew her. Though she is gone, her memory and spirit will forever live on in the hearts of those she touched.

As Nina would always say, while folding her napkin, puckering her lips, and smiling: "And that's the story."