Geraldine Audrey Buchanan

June 5, 1929 – January 30, 2024

Westminster, CA (formerly of Viroqua, WI)

In loving memory, we honor our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Geraldine “Gerry” Audrey (Fredrick) Buchanan, as she now rests in eternal peace with our father and grandfather, Gordon Buchanan.

Geraldine was born in La Crosse, WI on June 5, 1929, to Louis and Alma (Schoennagle) Fredrick. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Chaseburg, WI. The family farmed in the Chaseburg and Avalanche areas before settling in Viroqua, WI. She graduated from Viroqua High School in 1946. She married Gordon Buchanan in 1951 in Viroqua, and they later moved to California in 1953. Gordon passed away in 1999.

Geraldine was forever grateful to her parents for their excellent guidance, learning how to be resourceful, hardworking, and humble while finding humor in everyday life. She believed she learned everything there is to know about life from them and from growing up on the farm. She witnessed the virtue of unconditional love from her parents Louis and Alma and adopted it as her legacy to her own family.

As parents, Gerry and Gordy worked diligently to instill lifelong values in their four children. Even though Gerry held several bookkeeping, finance and administrative positions at businesses, schools and churches while raising her family, she managed to wash and iron forty-seven button-down dress shirts each week for her husband and three sons and made many dresses for her daughter. It was important to her that they look “respectable” at work and school every day.

She served on the Board of Finance at her church. She was also an integral part of a group who helped to establish the Orange Lutheran High School.

Hosting family gatherings – planned or impromptu - were as important to Gerry as keeping family traditions. She could whip up a meal on short notice or prepare a bedroom for guests with a smile. She maintained and prepared favorite family recipes from all sides of the family. One of her favorite traditions was attending the annual Scottish Festival in Orange County, CA, as one way to honor the Buchanan heritage.

Gerry and Gordy often made the cross-country trip from CA to WI to stay connected with friends and relatives, and to attend class reunions in Viroqua. They often took their family camping to explore areas in California. In later years, they traveled to many locations with Gordy’s choir, to Elder Hostels, and to visit friends and family, along the West Coast and to Hawaii. Gordy passed away in 1999, and Gerry remained in the family home in Westminster. He lived on vividly in her heart and mind for all the years after he had passed.

Staying connected with family and friends was especially important to Gerry. Living her mantra “Blest be the Tie that Binds,” she is fondly remembered for sending thoughtful letters, cards, and care packages filled with love and encouragement to inspire her extended family and friends.

Often saying that she was “good at patching up things that were torn apart”, sewing and quilting was a life-long hobby and labor of love for Gerry. She made thousands of baby quilts for Project Linus, a non-profit organization providing new handmade blankets to children in need. In addition, she made many “Quilts of Valor” to honor those who served in the military. Some quilts took over three months to make.

Well-read, feisty, opinionated yet non-judgmental, the life of the party, kind, compassionate, funny, and humble are just a few ways to describe Gerry. A quote she often used to express the value of keeping an open mind about the views of others: “Whenever two people share the same opinion, one of them is unnecessary.”

She also lived by an expression shared by her father Louis Fredrick: “Plant your feet (firmly on the ground).” Meaning, become resolute and reject intimidation.

Despite some physical health challenges, Gerry maintained her mental acuity to the very end. She believed that living in the “perfect climate,” staying rooted in her faith, and “not sweating the small stuff” all contributed to her longevity.

We are all better people having known and loved her. Blessed be her memory.

Geraldine is survived by her four children: Paul (Robin) Buchanan of Claremont, CA; Gregg (Rebecca) Buchanan of Brooklyn, NY; Jon (Simone) Buchanan of Long Beach, CA; and Mary Sue Horton of Tehachapi, CA. She is also survived by her nine grandchildren: Andy Buchanan, Christina Buchanan, Peter Buchanan, Ruth Gerges, Henry Buchanan, Rose Buchanan, Susan Lokey, Jon Horton, and Jennifer Buchanan. She is further survived by five great-grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and nephews, all of whom she loved and adored.

She is preceded in death by her husband Gordon, her parents, her sister Lucine Grafft, and other relatives, including her beloved cousin Eddie Gene Fredrick.

Funeral services will be held at Reformation Lutheran Church at 15750 Magnolia St, Westminster, CA on February 24, 2024 at 11:00am.

A service at Thorson-Popp Funeral Home at 856 S Rusk Ave in Viroqua, WI is planned for a later date in early March, prior to her burial in the Viroqua Cemetery.

Dimond and Shannon Mortuary is entrusted with her services in Westminster, CA.

Thorson-Popp Funeral and Cremation Services is entrusted with her service and burial in Viroqua, WI.