Regine Maria Morrison

Gina (93) passed away on Tuesday, September 24th, 2024, at her home in Matthews. She was in the company of her loving family members performing their devoted home hospice care for her.

Born on July 3rd, 1931, in Slavikau, Ratibor in Silesia (now southern Poland) an area at the time was under dispute, claimed by three countries: Czechoslovakia, Poland and Germany. The town was renamed “Bergkirch” under German occupation.

Gina was the second child and daughter of Heinrich Kusch, a civil servant, and Hedwig Tschauder, a kindergarten teacher. She was born into a truly tumultuous time. She learned early the importance of resourcefulness, determination, and perseverance. Because Slovakia supported Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland in September 1938, the family believed itself first safe under German occupation, until the ugliness of the Holocaust reared its head then targeted both Jews and the Roma.

As Hedwig was Roma, this had devastating consequences on the family. This was a guarded secret that could only be kept secret for a brief period, so the family split up. Hedwig and Gina came out of hiding and fled from Bergkirch in January of 1945 when the Russian Red Army marched into town and the Germans were retreating. Under dark of night, they fled from the Russian zone through “No Man’s Land.” Both mother and daughter ran for their lives under gunshots into a forest, where a herd of wild pigs roused by the shots started running with them, protecting them from being injured.

Her brother Karlheinz Kusch ordered to the Russian front at the age of sixteen, was injured and later captured by the Russians. Her father Heinrich escaped conscription by the Germans because he had an open wound sustained from a motorcycle accident as a young man that never healed. He continued to run what was left of the “Bergkirch” municipality when it switched from German to Russian occupation.

After WWII, the entire family was reunited and settled in Laatzen close to Hannover in West Germany and then moved to their permanent home in Braunschweig. Gina became a trained dental assistant at the age of nineteen. She then worked for Karl Zeiss Labs producing optic lenses which made her meticulous. She went off to Nice, France where she became an au pair and learned to speak French as she developed a love for languages and distinct cultures. Her other keen interests were gardening, cooking dishes from all over the world and needlework.

In Nice she met and later married Clifford Reeves, a communications engineer from Kansas in 1953. Their union produced daughters Jeanine Maxine (deceased) and Michele Annebelle both born in Saudi Arabia as Clifford worked for ARAMCO. That marriage ended in 1960, upon which Regine and daughter Michele left Saudi Arabia for Germany.

In 1962, Regine married William Andrew Morrison, an industrial engineer from Plainfield, Indiana. He was her loving husband for 46 years. Together they raised her daughter Michele, whom William adopted and gave his name. Their union also produced Karen Morrison who was born in Germany in 1965.

Due to William’s career opportunities, the family moved frequently between the Middle East, Germany, and England. After William retired, he took his wife Regine and daughter Karen home to the United States in 1988 where they settled in Providence Plantation. William passed away in 2008. She moved to Matthews Ridge in December 2012 with her daughter Karen.

Regine leaves behind to celebrate her life and to cherish her memory her daughters Dr. Michele Morrison and Karen Morrison along with two grandchildren Zoe Whittaker and William Whittaker who will miss her dearly.

A memorial service will be held at 11am on Friday, October 25th, 2024, at McEwen Funeral Service Pineville Chapel located at 10500 Park Road Charlotte, NC. Reverend John Allen from St. Matthew Catholic Church officiating.