Geraldine “Gerrie” Beth Thurber passed away on Monday, April 6, 2026, at the age of 82. She was born in Burlington, WI on October 28, 1943, the youngest of five children, to Carl and Loretta (Wagner) Cheney. She spent her happy childhood swimming, fishing, climbing trees and caring for wild animals she adopted as pets from the large woods near the family home in Kenosha.
She graduated from Salem Westosha Central High School and then attended Spencerian Business College in Milwaukee. Soon she was employed by the Town of Somers and the city and county of Kenosha as a Tax Assessor.
She met her future husband, Harold, at a dance when he was twelve years old and she was eleven. Nine years later, they married at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Kenosha. They greeted every day of married life with enthusiasm for the next big adventure. Harold and Gerrie enjoyed 59 years of wedded bliss until Harold’s passing in 2023.
After many years of collecting antiques, Gerrie and Harold opened Apple Lane Antiques in 1976. Gerrie loved every minute in the shop: visiting with customers who became lifelong friends, sharing stories of travel across the country with Harold on their buying trips and arranging and rearranging the shop to make it the very special place that it was for 34 years.
Gerrie is survived by her brother, Bernard Cheney (Betty Seitz); sister-in-law, Nancy Senatore; brother-in-law, Jack (Sylvia) Thurber and 26 beloved nieces and nephews. She is further survived by special friends, Judy LaCombe and Dale and Carolyn Jacobs.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents; two brothers, Dayton (Barb) Cheney and Tom Cheney and sister, Carletta (Nolan) Wallenfang; brothers-in-law, Robert (Marie) Thurber, James (Helen) Thurber, and Richard Senatore and sisters-in-law, Gayle Cheney and Elaine Cheney.
The family would like to thank Dr. Malik Bandealy, Dr. Ali Kilic, and the staff of Library Terrace Assisted Living for their compassionate care of Gerrie.
Memorial Service
DATE:
April 18, 2026 at 11:00 am
Piasecki Funeral Home
3720 39th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53144
