Dr. Anni Christine Gregor

Anni was born on January 27, 1944 in Dresden, Germany and lived nearby in the small town of Dippoldiswalde.

World War II had a tremendous impact on Anni and her family. They lived just outside Dresden when it was bombed, and they continued to live in East Germany after the war while it was under Russian occupation. Her father escaped across the border to West Germany when she was 6, which allowed the family to move to West Germany in the Black Forest near the French border. She lived in West Germany until she was 13 with several summers staying with a host family in Norway, where she learned how to knit complex Norwegian sweaters. During these years she learned to speak Russian, French, and Norwegian in addition to her native German.

When she was 13, her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where she skipped a grade and went to Robbinsdale High School in Minneapolis before going on to the University of Minnesota and earning a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at the age of 21.

At age 22 she married her first husband, Charles Norman, and started a family. She had three children during that marriage; Naomi, Aaron, Zack, and also helped raise her stepson, John. She earned a certificate to work with teens with chemical dependency and worked at a group home for teenagers in St. Paul.

She moved to Baraga, Michigan in 1979 when she was 35 years old and married Peter Hoheisel and had her fourth child, Christina.

It was there that she earned a Masters in Social Work from Michigan State University, driving four hours to Sault Ste. Marie every week for classes and forming lifelong friendships with her fellow classmates in the MSW program. She went on to earn a Doctorate of Education from Western Michigan University, again taking advantage of remote classes offered in the Upper Peninsula.

She worked as the Juvenile Court Counselor for the Baraga County Court for 30 years, retiring in 2014 at the age of 70. She loved her job, and cared deeply about serving the children and families with whom she worked. During her career, she was appointed as a member of the Michigan Committee of Juvenile Justice for a number of years, which provided advice, suggestions, and solutions to the Governor of Michigan on issues relating to the juvenile justice system. She started a Community Attitude Survey for Baraga County when a paper mill, casino, and maximum security prison were planning to come into the community to assess sentiment about it before and after they were built. She ran this survey every four years over the course of 20 years. She was on the Baraga Area Schools School Board from 1996 to 2012. In the mid 1990s she started a private therapy practice, Superior Counseling, where she saw couples and adults. She was a board member at the Barbara Kettle Gundlach shelter home for abused women in Calumet from 1979-2011 and served in a number of executive positions including the chair.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Anni was a member of the teaching faculty of Michigan State University, School of Social Work, Distance Education Program. She fulfilled roles as a field instructor, field liaison, and co-taught practice classes. She was instrumental in facilitating the success of the first MSW program in the UP Copper Country location, 500 miles from the MSU campus.

She loved Baraga County and the land that she lived on there. She spoke frequently of how lucky she was to live in such a beautiful place.

She never let go of her love of art, and transitioned her artistic talent to photography later in life. She played an active role in Gallery 325 where she contributed photographs and organized showings and events.

Her many friends meant so much to her. She camped and hiked regularly with many dear friends in and around Baraga County. She also had friends throughout the country and in Germany with whom she would connect and visit. She loved traveling around the world with her children, sister and friends.

After her retirement she moved to California to be closer to her daughter, son, and grandchildren and was able to be a close part of their lives for seven years before passing.

Surviving are her children Naomi (Graeme) Norman of Ann Arbor, MI; Aaron Norman of Ann Arbor, MI; Zack (Susan) Norman of San Francisco, CA; Christina (Alex) Hoheisel of Oakland, CA; and stepson John (Juliette) Norman of St. Paul, MN; siblings Maria (David) Dickhausen of Minneapolis, MN; George (Linda) Gregor of Minneapolis, MN; Eva (Tom) Peterson of Las Vegas, NV; Leni (Peter) Heinen of Minneapolis, MN; and Charles (Beth) Gregor of Minneapolis, MN; grandchildren Aidan, Quinn, Audrey, Nathalie, Victoria, Nicola, Ellie; nieces and nephews and many dear friends. Anni is preceded in death by her parents Erwin and Johanna Gregor of Minneapolis, MN and sister Edith Harris of Los Angeles, CA.

A memorial service will be held at 1pm on July 23, 2022 at the L’Anse Waterfront Park in L’Anse, Michigan. In her memory, please consider a donation to the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home of Calumet or Baraga Area Schools (210 Lyons St, Baraga, MI 49908).