A funeral mass will be held on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 11:00 AM at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Rib Lake with Father Patrick McConnell officiating. Visitation will take place at Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Friday May 7, 2021 from 9:00 AM until the time of service at 11:00. Due to COVID concerns, social distancing and masks will be required while in the church.
Emily, the daughter of Ben and Tekla Gasek, was born in 1927 in Rib Lake where she resided for 65 years. She was active in both church and school with the class of 1945. Emily married William Niggemann at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Rib Lake. Some years later, they purchased the Rib Lake Dairy which was then known as “Bill’s Fine Cheese”. Emily worked in the office until Bill’s death in 1963. The dairy was sold to Badger Consolidated where she continued to work until the new owners relocated to Medford. Other places of employment were the Rib Lake School District, Holiday Village in Medford, Lakewood Credit Union in Rib Lake and the Golden Age Nursing Home in Rib Lake where she opened a convenience store known as Emily’s Treats and Treasures.
In 1990 Emily moved to Marathon City and opened her shop in a senior retirement complex in Wausau, WI where she continued to do personal shopping for the tenants. After 10 years, Emily closed her shop and began working at the Wausau YMCA until her retirement in 2006.
Emily enjoyed both interior and exterior home painting and decorating, flower gardening, walking and word and jigsaw puzzles. She cherished baking and decorating cookies every holiday for her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. She enjoyed music, keyboarding and dancing, especially polka. Emily took various trips during the winter months, highlighted by traveling to Poland where she visited the area where her father grew up. In late years, Emily and her sister planned shorter, more local trips, each spring. She loved to travel by airplane.
Emily is survived by her seven children, Kathleen (Ray) Synol, Medford, WI, Marlene (Jerry) Holtz Rib Lake, WI, Karen (Ken) Steinman, Germantown, WI, Joanie (Jim) Gebauer, Rib Lake, WI, Sandra Klimeck (Rod Sackman) Marathon, WI, Bill (Mary) Niggemann, Marshfield, Teri Zimmerman Medford, WI and one sister, Gladys Matyka, Rib Lake, WI. Emily is further survived by 17 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 7 great great grandchildren. Emily is preceded in death by her parents, husband, 3 brothers, 5 sisters, and 1 great grandson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorial donations be given to the family for future designation. Hemer Funeral Services of Medford and Rib Lake is serving the family. For online condolences, please visit hemerfuneralservice.com.
