Schoolgirl and Rape Victim
Bio & Character Sketch of
Regina Almstedt
Sept. 29, 1909 - Jan. 3, 1980
Age in April, 1923: 14 Age at Death: 70
Age when picture was taken: (est) 14
Regina Almstedt was born to Hermann and Elizabeth Almstead in Columbia on September 29, 1909. She graduated from Hickman High School in Columbia in 1925. Her sister Ruth was in the same graduating class – the two were biological sisters born less than a year apart.
Regina’s nickname was “Denie.” She was in the Glee Club and she also played piano, both talents almost certainly influenced by her father’s love for music.
After high school Regina attended Washington University in St. Louis where she graduated with a degree in Nursing. She soon met and later married her husband, Dr. Guerdan Hardy, and Ear, Nose & Throat doctor and they were married on March 14, 1935 when Regina was 26 years old. The couple settled in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, MO.
Regina and Guerdan had two children – both boys – David, born in 1939 and William, born in 1944.
Regina died on January 3, 1980 in St Louis, MO. After a funeral at Holy Communion Church in University City, MO, she was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Saint Louis.
Character Sketch
In 1923, Regina Almstedt was a fourteen year old schoolgirl. She loved to play the piano and she was also in the Glee Club at school. Her father expected his daughters to work hard in school. He was a tough, but loving father dedicated to his teaching at the University, but infinitely aware of his deeper responsibilities at home.
After Regina was raped, her personality shifts almost immediately from confident to skiddish and shy. She can’t trust the world anymore. She’s felt its sting when she does.
“Denie” - as she’s known at school - now concentrates on her piano skills. Because she’s good at it. Because she can do it alone. Because she knows her father will like it.
Her dreams of the rape, the confrontation with her assailant, her meetings with adults and her injection into the whole legal process all keep bringing the nightmare to life, over and over again.
Regina’s concerns about her own life all come crashing down at the Audrain Courthouse when she identifies Ollie Watson as her attacker. Now she sees that “her” initial mistaken identity has resulted in an innocent man losing his LIFE. Can she ever forgive herself??! It almost snaps her out of the self-pity funk that she had been in, but now it places a whole new burden on her shoulders.
Regina biggest wish is for James’ mother and wife to forgive her.