Tribute

 Regina was born in Helmstedt, Germany in 1948. She grew up within walking distance to the infamous Helmstedt-Marienborn border crossing, which she came to know well as she regularly visited family members living in East Germany. Her mother died when Regina was very young, and her father, who was the Helmstedt Mayor at the time, remarried shortly after. Her father passed away when she was ten, and at the age of sixteen she left the care of her stepmother and followed her beloved older sister Hannelore to British Columbia.

Regina was a quick learner, mastering English quickly and excelling in her studies as she prepared for a career in education. While completing her teaching certificate at UBC and working in a delicatessen on Robsonstrasse she met her first husband, Harald Repen. After the birth of her first son Curtis, Regina and Harald moved to rural B.C. for work and living opportunities. Regina’s first teaching job was in 1970, in a one room schoolhouse in Wonowon on the Alaska Highway. Without direct mentorship in this remote posting, she developed her own unique teaching style which would make her memorable to generations of students.

After a move to the burgeoning mill town of Mackenzie, Regina took a brief break from teaching to care for Curtis and her second son, Darcy. She rejoined the teaching ranks in 1978 and left her mark at Mountainview Elementary in Mackenzie, and later at Pender Island School.

Regina married her second husband, Wolfgang, on Pender Island where they would enjoy their retirement years together.

Regina was an introverted intellectual, a voracious reader, and was intensely political. She was a union organiser and representative, a passionate supporter of the early NDP (and later, the Green Party), and an advocate for the rights of B.C.’s indigenous peoples. Her sense of adventure and love of nature led to many forays into the B.C. wilderness. Her creativity resulted in hand-crafted miniatures and dollhouses, beautiful, crocheted afghans, and a hodgepodge of projects using foraged sticks, stones, and seashells among other things. She was also a great lover of animals, taking comfort in the company of many pets over the years.

Regina will be remembered fondly by her family, students, co-workers, and friends for her kindness, generosity, sense of humour, and open-minded approach to life.