Emmely Claire (Buchmann) Gideon
May 26, 1930 – October 3, 2025
Plymouth, MN, USA
life story
Loving Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother
Emmely Claire (Buchmann) Gideon was born May 26, 1930 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jacob and Clara (Elsasser) Buchmann. She passed away on October 3, 2025 in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Emmely’s parents were both from Switzerland and immigrated to the United States in their 20s. Because of this, Emmely held dual citizenship in America as well as Switzerland. As a young girl she made frequent trips to Switzerland to visit her family. She was in Europe when World War II broke out and left on one of the last boats still able to sail to America. She spoke fluent Swiss German and was in love with Switzerland‘s culture and cuisine. She joined the Swiss Ladies Society in Milwaukee and continued to make trips to Switzerland into her late 80s.
Emmely attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to earn a degree in business, and soon after, married Gordon P. Ralph. Emmely loved being a full-time mother to her two children, Lynn and Jay. She loved the out-of-doors, camping, and nature hikes. She volunteered as a Girl Scout leader and was in leadership at the Glendale Women’s Club and music clubs for many years. Emmely loved travel and took her grandchildren, both domestically and abroad, to New York City, Italy, China, France, Easter Island, and Peru. She was hiking in the Amazon rainforest and on Machu Picchu even in her 80s. She valued being a lifelong learner. Emmely enjoyed cultural events at the Milwaukee Arts Center, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and repertory theater. Even in her late 80s and 90s she took courses in French and German at the University of Wisconsin. The very last book she read was a large novel written in the German language about a Swiss family.
In her 60s, Emmely married Walter Gideon, a gentleman from Switzerland. They shared 14 happy years together until his death and they made frequent trips back to Switzerland to visit family and friends. At 91, after the sudden passing of her dear gentleman friend, Jacques Marringa, and as her health began to decline, Emmely made a move from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Plymouth, Minnesota to be closer to her daughter, Lynn, and 8 of her 9 grandchildren. Emmely will be deeply missed by her two children, Lynn (James) Zook and Jay (Donna) Ralph, and 9 grandchildren—Karen (Zook) Ziemke, Sarah (Zook) Yonak, Tobin Zook, Aimee (Zook) Simpson, Megan (Zook) Lund, Liana (Zook) Sovine, Julia Zook, Jason Ralph and Kathryn (Ralph) Freund and 12 great grandchildren.