Louise Horner Reiss
Louise Horner Reiss moved from earthly pain into eternity on March 15, 2026.
Born in East Canton, Ohio to Edna and Loyd Horner, she spent most of her life in Durham, NC and Banner Elk, NC. Louise lived a rich and varied life, starting her adulthood as an RN first in Cleveland, Ohio, then as a critical care nurse at Watts Hospital and Duke University Hospital in Durham.
While she and her husband Edmund spent a sabbatical year in Italy, Louise fell in love with languages and cooking. Upon return to the US, she earned a Master’s degree and PhD in Romance Languages from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She spent the next 30 years of her life teaching Italian, French, Spanish, and Latin at NC State and Meredith College in Raleigh. She and her students loved to explore the foodways of global communities. As a result of this passion, Louise had a remarkable library of cookbooks and cooking history. One eminent “foodie” declared that no cassoulet in France was as tasty the one made by Louise Reiss.
When Louise was living in Rome, she drove a bright red Alfa Romeo with North Carolina license plates. Men on the sidewalks used to cry out to her “Ciao, Carolina, ciao bella.” We know that she is receiving a similarly enthusiastic greeting as she steps into the afterlife.
Louise is survived by Edmund, her beloved husband of 62 years, her dear friends Beverly Taylor and Margaret O’Shaughnessey, brother-in-law Roger Werstler, step-daughter Kathryn Reiss (Tom Strychacz) in Benicia, CA and Bretby, England, step-son Geoffrey Reiss (Eugenia Maddox) of Durham, seven grandchildren: Nicholas Strychacz (Borislava Marcheva) in Washington DC, Daniel Strychacz (Jennifer) in New Concord, OH, Angie Wootten (Eric) in Charlottesville, VA, Alexandra Strychacz (Joseph Carr) in Oakland, CA Isabel Strychacz (Henry Coniff) in Swadlincote, England, Dolores Strychacz (Brandon Fraga) in Walton, KY, Raymond Strychacz in New Concord, OH, and seven great-grandchildren.
The family is immensely grateful for the Hospice care Louise received in the last weeks of her life. There will be a private memorial service for her in late April.