"Marguerite & Suzanne, two inspiring and persevering women."
& the Juppont Gury company
Daisy
Marguerite GURY was born in March 1903, on Friday the 13th. Daughter of Auguste GURY, Schoolteacher and Town Clerk in Le Tholy, she grew up in this pretty hillside village and developed her manual skills.
Gifted with perfect pitch, she played the piano and organ in church. She also learned to sew and quickly became an apprentice milliner to Suzanne. After Suzanne's marriage to Henry Gerard, Marguerite took over the millinery business. She then married Julien Juppont.
In 1933, she developed a workshop specializing in household linen, located in the center of the village, on the site of the former grocery store (now the BONGRAIN-GERARD Cheese Shop).
Continuing its development with her husband, the workshop was finally built in 1938. Hindered by the Second World War, the refusal to work for the occupying forces, and a lack of staff, growth only resumed after the Armistice, but without Julien Juppont, who died in 1944 during the bombings. Only ruins remained, but at least two beautiful children. Marguerite was also the Town Clerk in Le Tholy, just as her father had been before her.
At the time of the French surrender, Lieutenant-Colonel Ferroni entrusted the flag of the 168th Infantry Regiment to Marguerite. She buried it beneath the Juppont-Gury workshop until the end of the war. After retrieving it, Lieutenant-Colonel Ferroni presented a photograph of the flag and part of the spearhead. The other part is on display at Les Invalides in Paris.
In 1946, Marguerite, with the help of her son Michel, revived the business. Fueled by the post-war economic boom known as the Trente Glorieuses, operations continued until 1976, when Gérard Fritsch, one of Marguerite's grandsons, joined them. The Juppont-Gury workshop diversified, and Marguerite retired. A lifelong epicurean, she passed away in 1999 at the age of 96. Gérard Fritsch and his wife Sabine, née Gerard, granddaughter of Suzanne, ran the family workshop until 2014.
Hotel Gérard & the grocery store
Suzanne
Suzanne DEMANGEL was born on November 21, 1897 in Le Tholy. After a childhood in the village, she began her working life at 18 as a milliner, where she trained Marguerite GURY before letting her manage the business.
It was in 1920, through her marriage to Henri Gérard, that Suzanne joined the family business of the Hôtel Gérard, entirely dedicated to welcoming and serving travelers and vacationers. She quickly became an expert in the field. She gave birth to three sons. She prematurely lost her son Michel in 1934 and her husband Henri in 1935. She then took over the management of the hotel until its closure during the Second World War, during which time she ran the bakery and grocery store next door. She suffered the further painful loss of her son François in 1941.
Rare for the time, Suzanne had her driver's license, and would have a special allocation of petrol as well as an "ausweis" to drive sick people from the village or soldiers to the hospital in Remiremont.
In 1944, she undertook the reconstruction of the Hôtel Gérard with her son Grégoire, then 18 years old. The family establishment quickly became an iconic landmark in the Vosges region, and up to four generations lived under the same roof. Furthermore, she was the first woman to be elected to the Municipal Council and also served on the Social Welfare Office, where she dedicated part of her time. She also provided temporary accommodation for the municipal services, which had been destroyed during the war.
An iconic figure in the village, she was awarded the Hotel Recognition Medal in 1977 for her exceptionally long and distinguished career. Following an accident in Montreux, where she loved to spend her holidays, Suzanne passed away in December 1983 surrounded by her family.
The Hôtel Gérard remained in the family until 2004, then was sold to another native of Le Tholy, Gérard Claudel, who had been an intern with Suzanne and Grégoire. A devastating fire ravaged the establishment in 2010, leaving a significant void in the town center.
Marguerite & Suzanne's great-granddaughter
& founder of the concierge service.
Morgane
After many years growing up surrounded by textiles, hospitality, and tourism, Morgane turned to medicine. Since 2005, she has been learning the trade alongside her parents, at the rental chalet built by Gérard and his close group of friends. One evening, a conversation over dinner with friends sparked a crazy idea, and the project was launched. The chalet was built, Sabine decorated it with refined taste, and Morgane was by her side.
After her studies in Nancy, diploma in hand, and a desire to return to her native Vosges region, she settled in Gérardmer, but worked at La Ligne Bleue in Epinal as a medical radiographer in the Nuclear Medicine department. Tourism remained secondary, as she helped her father and enjoyed staying in touch with the vacationers who visited the area.
Several years passed, but the desire to find her bearings again, to achieve a better quality of life and an environment more conducive to her professional and personal growth, grew stronger. So, in 2023, things changed; she decided to leave the hospital sector to return to her roots: textiles, tourism, and her mountains.
Drawing on her experience in this field in which she has always been immersed, she now pays tribute to these two family stories from Le Tholy by creating "Marguerite & Suzanne", her great-grandmothers, two inspiring and persevering women.
So here we are, ready to support you in your project, because we love taking risks and we persevere. Do you own a seasonal rental? A second home? Are you a vacationer looking for the perfect place for your stay in the Vosges? Don't hesitate to contact us; we'll respond with care and professionalism. See you soon!
