Gina Balabanski Cass passed away on July 29, 2023 at the age of 73. She was a lifelong maker and artist.

Gina spent the majority of her life in the Central Florida area after immigrating from Europe. On July 17, 1950, she was born Genowefa Vladislava (shortened to “Giena;” pronounced Ginyaa with a hard G as in goal.) in a displaced persons camp in the town of Villach, Austria. Her parents met at the camp after WWII, married, then immigrated to the US with their children in tow - Gina barely 1 years old at the time. They sailed for 10 days on a WW2 steam ship from Germany to New Orleans, before making their way to Florida. On the ship, Gina took her first steps.

The family secured their immigration through employment sponsorship of Martin Andersen, the wealthy owner of the Orlando newspaper, and lived on the grounds of his downtown estate. While living there, Gina was exposed to lots of art, antiques and exotic plants - likely inspiration for some of her interests later in life. The family eventually moved to nearby rural Longwood, Fla which had way more orange groves than anything else at the time. In comparison to Orlando, Gina described it as “the boonies.” 

In Longwood, Gina made life-long friends. Self-described as “shy,” she was appreciative of the friends that pulled her out of her shell (even becoming a jr high cheerleader!) Growing up, she made trips to the beach, canoed and rode horses through the bramble. Gina took care of Stanley - her rascal of a little brother. She taught herself to sew and began to make. 

 After high school, Gina attended Seminole Junior College where she planned to be an art teacher. Unfortunately, her studies were cut short. In 1970, Gina was one of the first employees at Walt Disney World Orlando, working in one of the Main Street stores. In 1973, she married and then worked in insurance at her mother-in-law’s company where she was able to flex her math and logic skills. 

In 1980, Gina fulfilled her dream of becoming a mother and dedicated herself full-time. She was great at it. She was kind, compassionate, and most of all accepting. Gina always had  fun kid-friendly craft project up her sleeve and was full of “adventures” (ie. took a wrong turn but making the best of it).

Gina had a green thumb, growing vegetables in a large backyard garden and so many varieties of orchids. She was in a classic 80s bowling league for many years. She crafted and sold work at art shows. Once Gina decided to make and sell a  Thanksgiving decoration that she designed and got so overwhelmed with orders that she had to enlist the help of family & friends to finish in time for the holiday. For thanks, everyone was invited to a big meal with recipes she had learned from her Chinese cooking class (people still had to help make the wontons).  She loved ‘antiquing’ but probably more so ‘a good find.’ She had an eye for rescuing abandoned art. Gina’s favorite holidays were Christmas and Halloween. One year she made gravestones for the front yard with epitaphs to ‘roast’ the neighbors. For a while she did this thing called “Old & Ugly” where women would dress up per the theme, go bar-hopping, and harass men. 

Gina found a passionate interest in antique dolls and toys - a hobby that allowed her to combine many of her skills and interests. She studied them and collected them. Gina created reproduction dolls, as well as intricate historically-precise accessories.  She was an expert at identifying materials such as antique fabrics, hand sewn lace and other notions. For many decades, she was a member of the Central Florida Doll Club and also the Doll Fashion Guild of Florida - through which she made some of her closest friendships. 

Gina was loyal and giving to her family and friends. She was always willing to make something for a special event, drive a friend to an appointment or otherwise provide a helping hand. She loved the animals that came into her life like family.

She’s greatly missed by all.