Geraldine Pape

Geraldine S. Pape (Geri), beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend and to many, passed away peacefully at age 84 on Sunday, November 24, 2024, at Peabody Manor in Appleton, Wisconsin. Our heartfelt thanks to the Peabody staff for their compassionate care.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home in Wisconsin Rapids. Burial will be at Forest Hill Cemetery, also in Wisconsin Rapids. In remembrance of Geraldine, charitable donations can be made to the American Diabetes Association.

Geraldine was born on July 10, 1940, in Wausau, Wisconsin, to Orville and Florence (Dreyer) Jacobson. After graduating from D.C. Everest High School in Schofield, she studied early childhood education at UW-Stevens Point, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She married Richard Pape in November 1964 in Wisconsin Rapids, and they were blessed with 42 years of marriage until his passing in July 2006.

A favorite kindergarten teacher for thousands of children during her 40 year career, Geraldine taught at several schools in the Wisconsin Rapids school district until retiring in 2006. In addition, she did volunteer work for organizations such as the Cancer Center at Riverview Hospital, the Neighborhood Table, and the one-room schoolhouse at the South Wood Country Historical Museum, among others.

Geraldine cherished her grandchildren, sharing books with them, playing games, and taking them on annual trips to the Wilderness Water Park in Wisconsin Dells. Christmas time was special, too: she especially enjoyed the many hours spent with her daughters and grandchildren in the kitchen baking and decorating cookies.

She also loved to travel. Some favorite destinations were California, Alaska, France, Germany, Italy, and Hawaii. She always brought back gifts for friends and family to treasure. She read voraciously and enjoyed a wide range of music, from jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to the Blue Man Group. She often ushered at events at the PAC at Lincoln High School.

Geraldine is survived by her daughters Paula (Norbert) Trucks-Pape, Pamela (Mark) Schroeder, and Patrice (Tom) Dorsey of San Diego; grandchildren Elias Schroeder, Ella, Liam, and Lucian Dorsey as well as Phil Trucks and Helen Trucks Ponoran; and great-grandchildren Delia and Aliyah Ponoran. She is also survived by her sister Irene Hahn, brother-in-law Don Walkowski, and sister-in-law Darlene Jacobson, in addition to many nieces, nephews, and other extended family.

She is preceded in death by her loving husband Richard, brother Orville Jacobson, and sisters Janise Clark and Carol Walkowski.

We will miss her incredible capacity to care for others, her dry sense of humor, her strength, and above all, her loving presence.