Geraldine I. Zimmerman

Geraldine I. Zimmerman (nee Burkhardt) passed away Friday, March 13, 2020 at the age of 89 yrs.Gerry was the only child of Frank (Butch) and Irene Burkhardt Jr. and grew up in Kekoskee, WI. The Burkhardt family originally settled in the village in the late 1800’s and was the proprietor of “Burkhardt’s Tavern” for 3 generations. She was very proud of her family connection with Kekoskee and numerous items from the generations of Burkhardt are on display at the Kekoskee Museum. (More information on Gerry’s family can be found in the book “History of Kekoskee, Wisconsin”). After graduating from Mayville High School, Gerry tended bar at the tavern, married and moved to Mayville, having 2 children. After working as a secretary at Baker Canning Co in Theresa, WI, she was employed by Wisconsin Power & Light for 22 years. Back in the day when bills were paid in person, she was the face behind the counter in Mayville’s WP&L office. She brought home great behind-the-scene stories when Mayville got hit with the big ice storm in the early 1970’s. As Gerry’s father and husband were hunters and also fished, the Horicon Marsh and Rock River were prominent in her life. She taught her 8 yr old daughter how to pluck a duck and as the family caught Northern Pike & Bullheads, she got stuck cleaning them all (good old memories). She loved traveling, antiquing and eating out. Some highlights were when Gerry and her daughter ate their way around Austria, tried most of the buffets in Las Vegas and after a stateroom stay on the Hotel Queen Mary, had their fabulous brunch (very fattening memories). Gerry’s son would invite her out to his recreational land, where she enjoyed sitting around a late- night bonfire, listening to the fire crackle (warm memories). Gerry was preceded in death by her husband of 52 yrs, Gus Zimmerman Jr.; brother in-law & sister in-law Bob and June Zimmerman; nieces Mary Robin Zimmerman and Traci Zimmerman; life-long friend Donna Mae Clark; numerous grand-dogs. Survived by daughter Julie (Greg) Langenhorst; son Scott Zimmerman; grandson Andy Zimmerman; nephews Pat (Liza Allen) Zimmerman and Mike (Lori) Zimmerman; nieces Nikki (Robert) Devine and Kelli (Andy) Zimmerman-Klemp. If you wish to give a memorial in Gerry’s name, she loved the church that the Burkhardt’s attended for 4 generations. Please address to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 23 Main St., Mayville (Kekoskee), WI 53050. Per Gerry’s wishes (at 89 yrs old she figured that there would be few people still alive that knew her), it will be a private service & burial in Mayville’s Graceland Cemetery.