Geraldine Mae McKim

Geraldine Mae McKim was born in Anthon, Iowa, in 1926 to Fred and Ruth Riddle. Shortly after graduating from East High School, Sioux City, IA, in 1944, she signed on with the U.S. Department of Defense overseas employment. She moved to Dayton, Ohio, working as an administrative assistant while receiving training from the government. After completing her training, Geraldine returned to Sioux City to attend classes at Morning Side College. In 1948 she received her overseas appointment as a Cost Accountant to the Engineer Section at the Headquarters of the United States Forces in Austria. During this time, Geraldine met then-Captain Henry (Mac) McKim in Vienna. She worked, taught Sunday school, and explored Central Europe with Mac for the next two years. While in Vienna, Geraldine was introduced to fine dressmaking, and once back in the states, she pursued this lifelong love.

Geraldine and Mac were married in Temple, Texas. Thus began the life of a military wife, moving with Mac's commissions from Temple, Texas to Washington DC, to Boston Massachusetts, and on to Anchorage, Alaska, where they had a child in Temple, DC, and Anchorage. Lt. Colonel Henry McKim retired in the Spring of 1960, in Washington DC, and after traveling across the USA to the State of Washington, the family moved to Denver, Colorado in the Fall of 1960, where their fourth child was born.

In the 1960s Geraldine worked as an administrative assistant for the Denver Rotary Club and taught classes in dressmaking at Emily Griffith School of Opportunity. Later, the family moved to Estes Park Colorado, where she worked as an administrative assistant to the Personnel Director at YMCA of the Rockies. While in Estes Park, Geraldine started Columbine Custom Boutique with her partner Shirley Wagner; together, they offered a collection of custom-designed handmade clothing for women. After a decade in Estes Park, 1979 Geraldine’s family moved to Westminster Colorado, where she acted as Mac’s primary caregiver for his serious lung ailments. Later in life, Geraldine's love of travel took her around the globe.

Geraldine was a devout Christian, a voracious reader, a cancer survivor, a wonderful caregiver, a loving mother, and the heart and soul of the McKim family. She is survived by her four children (Gerald, Creston, Alicia, & Gregory), three grandchildren (Mike & Mark McKim, Zoe Tweed), one grand-daughter-in-law (Shayna Weinstein McKim), and two great-grandchildren (Macy & Toby McKim).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CrownHillFuneral.com for the McKim family.