Tacouhi was the daughter of the Sourpik Tekian and the late Bedros Tekian who had died back in Ankara around the time of the Armenian Genocide. Tacouhi and the rest of her family fled their home to the relative safety of Constantinople. She attended a French Catholic school there, played tennis and musical instruments, and had an active social life. Tacouhi's older sister Marie was leaving Constantinople in 1922 for Philadelphia to marry Reuben Kashishian, who's twin brother had already married her sister Louisa. Tacouhi was an irrepressible free spirit who did not match her conservative surroundings, and so their concerned mother asked Marie to take Tacouhi with her to America. Marie traded in her (first class?) ticket in exchange for two in steerage and they arrived at Ellis Island on August 2. Tacouhi's travel documents listed her birthdate as April 23, 1905- which would have likely been on the Julian calendar, giving some uncertainty to her exact birthdate. At some point Tacouhi made herself a year younger and reported her birthdate as April 1, 1906 instead, creating yet another layer of discrepancy. Tacouhi went by Regine in America, the French translation of her Armenian name which means "Queen". She enrolled in school in Philadelphia- where she was incorrectly recorded as Virginia- for a short time until she married Sarkis Sookiasian at the end of the year, who was a friend of the family to her brothers-in-law. They had two children, Theodore and Nazareth, and they were raised in the Catholic church. Due to the many places she had lived, Tacouhi was fluent in at least five languages and could also play the mandolin. Besides Sarkis and Tacouhi's 5 grandchildren, they went on to see many of their 10 great-grandchildren. Tacouhi was actively involved with many organizations, especially the Armenian Relief Society.