Winifred Ann Rodgers Regh

Winifred Ann Rodgers Regh passed away on November 26, 2022, in Copper Canyon, TX. She moved there with her husband, Hank, six years ago to live with her daughter, Anne and husband, Gary. Winnie was born on March 12, 1928, in Greensboro, N.C. to Eric and Lucy Rodgers. The third of four daughters, her family later moved to Scotland Neck, N.C. Winnie’s life was full of adventure and achievement. From working on her father’s newspaper, The Scotland Neck Commonwealth, to diving to eight hundred feet in a small submarine in the Cayman Islands, she did it all!

After graduating from the Woman’s College in Greensboro (now UNC at Greensboro), she began her career and lifelong love of teaching in Bath, N.C. Next, Winnie boarded a ship and set sail for Paris to teach English, an adventure she had dreamed of doing since she was a little girl. While living in Paris, she and her college roommate traveled to Germany one weekend. There she met her future husband, Hans (Hank) Friedrich Regh, at an international student’s dance at the University of Tübingen in the Black Forest region of Germany.  They married in Tübingen in 1953.

Winnie and Hank started their life together in New York City, moved to Charlottesville, VA, and then on to Arlington, VA. Along the way, they welcomed five children to their adventure. Winnie taught school in Arlington, VA until Hank started working for the U.S. Department of Commerce, at which time the family moved to Frankfurt, West Germany. Winnie and Hank loved living and traveling in Europe. Four more assignments took the family to Bogotá, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; Washington, D.C.; and then back to Frankfurt, West Germany. After leaving government service, Hank and Winnie built a highly regarded travel consultancy business in Frankfurt before retiring to Naples, FL.

Though raised in a small, southern town in the U.S., Winnie thrived living overseas and took on challenges in each new country, including learning to speak French, German, and Spanish fluently. Each time we moved, Mama found schools, groceries, and doctors for our family, no easy task and even steered us through a devastating earthquake in Caracas. She claimed to not be brave, but her actions spoke otherwise.  Mama moved with ease from being a gracious host at an embassy party to baking warm and delicious bear claws for us as an after-school treat.  She and Hank made lifelong friends wherever they landed.  She possessed a knack for making everyone feel special. That was her gift and her source of joy. She was a gifted teacher, writer, and an amazing cook! She loved her books and her coffee, and always managed to somehow sneak these in.

Mom was so much fun to love and though there were five of us, she made each of us feel like we were the center of the universe. Upon being asked by the tax office if she possessed any valuables, she confirmed that indeed she did, saying she had “five jewels of great value” and their names were Arzin, Eric, Anne, Jeanne, and Emily. She always said raising her children was the most fulfilling and joyous accomplishment of her life.

Mom was kind and generous and her strong belief in God helped her weave church and religion into our lives. Being protective of all of us to the end, she decided Anne, after Gary’s passing, could carry on again without her; she left this life for what she was certain was another adventure.  She joins Hank and leaves behind her children: Arzin Adair (Mickey), Eric Regh, Anne Whiteman (Gary deceased), Jeanne Regh (Steffen), and Emily Fisher (Wayne); grandchildren: Anna Bankston (Ryan), Jeremy Regh, Amanda Regh, Katie Fisher (Hugo), and Daniel Fisher; and Shanta Perry, our friend and caretaker for the past six years, to continue loving her and cherishing her memory.

Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service – Letchworth Chapel in Scotland Neck is assisting the Regh family.