SHEBOYGAN – The home of Ger Lee, 69, and Sievon Lee, 64, on Sheboygan’s north side brimmed with exclamations of joy, eager embraces and tears May 4 as their family reunited with the two couples central to their immigration to the United States 45 years ago.
Three generations of the Lee family reminisced about old times with Rick and Sue Swearingen and Dennis and Sharon Doebler, sharing memories of life in Lake County, Illinois, in the living room and looking at old photos, revisiting moments like their kids playing soccer. The couples were reintroduced to Ger and Sievon’s oldest children, Wang Lee and Katie Dax, whom they had known as toddlers.
The couples tried to find the Lee family several times over the years. But on a visit to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in April, they were in luck. The couples asked a front-desk staffer if they had any idea where they could go. The worker suggested they contact the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association of Sheboygan. HMAA Director of Operations M Chang and Board Secretary PaNhia Lee connected the families.
“My mom just wanted to say that this is more than just a getting together, it’s a reunification of a family,” Sievon said in Hmong, which Wang interpreted for the room. “She said you all are family to her.”
The Lees immigrated to the U.S. from Laos in early 1980 during a time when droves of Hmong refugees were fleeing war and persecution, following the United States’ involvement in the “Secret War” and eventual retreat from conflict areas. Religious organizations like Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services helped resettle Hmong refugees in the U.S.
Today, more than 62,000 individuals identify as Hmong in the state and nearly 5,200 Hmong people live in Sheboygan, according to population estimates. Minnesota and California also have high populations of Hmong people.
The Lees stayed in San Francisco with 6-month-old Wang for a few days before they could relocate to Illinois. Through the Calvary Lutheran Church in Antioch, Illinois, the Swearingens and Doeblers helped the Lees move to the Midwest and acclimate to American life for nearly two years.
Rick showed Ger how to drive. Sharon and Sue were there for the homebirth of Katie, whom they didn’t know Sievon was pregnant with. The church helped Ger get his first job at a local electronics company. Sharon said she took Ger shopping for the first time, and he was amazed at the size of the grocery store. She remembers Ger seeing a turkey for the first time and saying it was a very big chicken. The Swearingens and Doeblers celebrated the Lees’ first Thanksgiving with them.
“It was so much fun and a little blessing for us to see them become a part of the country,” said Sharon, 78. She had two young daughters when they supported the Lees. Sievon made her a traditional Hmong baby carrier.
Ger said in Hmong that acclimating to life in the U.S. was very overwhelming, but he was appreciative to the country for giving them the opportunity to chase the American Dream. He said he was also grateful to have the support of the Swearingens and Doeblers, who were like parents guiding children. Everything was new and foreign to him and Sievon when they moved.
“These four individuals, day or night, around the clock, would come and help with everything — cooking, cleaning, how to use the household appliances, going to work, transportation — late at night,” Ger said, interpreted by Wang.
Celebrate Hmong American Day May 15: Share a free meal, make Hmong crafts and more at Sheboygan Hmong Day Celebration
Holding onto Hmong traditions while assimilating to American culture in Sheboygan
The families stayed in touch for a couple of years after the Lees moved to Sheboygan, but they eventually lost contact.
As the Lees settled into Wisconsin life, they continued to face culture shock, challenges and a feeling they had lost family members, leaving the Swearingens and Doeblers in Illinois. Sievon’s sister Ka Lo and her husband, Velai Lo, and Ger’s parents eventually immigrated, too.
Wang said his family, which grew to eight children, was on public assistance, and they utilized donation centers, like the former Bethesda/AbleLight Thrift Shop. They only took vacations to see family members, and his parents worked blue-collar jobs.
Ger worked at Bemis Manufacturing for more than 20 years. Sievon worked for the Sheboygan Area School District for 28 years, first as a school bus assistant for a year and a half, making sure students were following bus protocol, and then as a teacher’s aide. She learned English while riding the bus.
Wang said his mom was the bridge between the school system and the growing Hmong community because she knew all the families. She advocated on their behalf.
Members of the Lee, Swearingen and Doebler family talk outside the Lees’ home in Sheboygan. The families reunited May 4, 2025 after nearly 40 years.
He said apart from “jerks in both communities,” Sheboygan was receptive to their family and the Hmong community.
But he said Sheboygan wasn’t prepared for the influx of Hmong people. He said there weren’t financial, support or interpretative services geared toward the Hmong population.
As the oldest son and learning English in school, Wang took on responsibilities like interpreting for his grandmother and helping his parents navigate systems and responsibilities, such as paying bills, as they learned English when he was very young.
He said he only realized how much he did as a kid when he had children of his own.
“I never had a childhood,” Wang said. “I just was too busy being an adult.”
Services began improving in the mid-1990s, he said, and now Sheboygan has the HMAA, which was established to support refugee families resettle, and various organizations have Hmong interpretative and translation services, like Partners for Community Development.
Wang also had to balance being more Americanized at school and participating in his family’s values and traditions at home, a common experience for immigrant families. He said sometimes these parts of his life clashed, like contending with participating in extracurriculars but fulfilling his familial duties at home.
The Hmong community has established itself as a cultural and community presence in Sheboygan over the last 40 years, with celebrations like Hmong New Year, a Hmong community cafe, the HMAA, and numerous professionals and business owners.
Wang said there is more cultural synergy and assimilation now, too. When he was growing up, he spoke English at school and Hmong at home. Now, his children don’t know how to speak Hmong. Hmong and westernized weddings and funerals, grounded in different cultures, were held separately, too, but now it’s blending.
The couples are incredibly proud of the Lee family and the life they built in Sheboygan.
Among the siblings who have pursued services careers as nurses, firefighters and police officers, Wang earned his associate’s degree from Fox Valley Technical College and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He’s a sergeant with the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s amazing they’re giving so much back,” Sharon said.
Sharon still has the baby carrier Sievon made for her infant daughter. She sees it every morning during her devotions.
Sievon said the Swearingens and Doeblers have been on her mind for the last 40 years. She always wanted to visit, but she didn’t know who to contact.
Sievon said, “(I) just thought you were lost in the sea of the world.”
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan Hmong family reunites with couples who helped them immigrate