Krumpelmann, Irene, 1908-.

Krumpelmann was born Irene Lindahl in Duluth on April 9, 1908. She grew up in Duluth and Two Harbors (Minnesota), and Clear Lake (Wisconsin), attending college and receiving her teaching certification in Wisconsin. In 1933, after teaching and working at various summer jobs, she married Louis Lee, an undertaker whom she had met during summer work in Haywood, Wisconsin. They lived in St. Paul, where Lee had come to run the family mortuary business. He (and Irene) soon took back the family name, Iwanoski, which he had changed to Lee when he was in business in North Dakota. The Iwanoski funeral home, where the family also lived, was at 633 Wabasha Street. The Iwanoskis also bought and operated a boarding house next door at 10 Iglehart Avenue. Both buildings were purchased by the state of Minnesota (ca. 1946) and later razed to make way for the Capitol Approach development. Louis Iwanoski died in January 1947 and Irene continued to live at 633 Wabasha Street for about a year, after which she moved to an apartment on Grand Avenue. The Iwanoskis had no children, although for several years they cared for Irene's niece and nephew, Robert and Virginia Wright.

During the late 1940s and 1950s, Irene Iwanoski was a partner with her brother-in-law, Niles Giannaccini, in a concrete block manufacturing business in St. Paul. Irene Iwanoski married Willis Krumpelmann in 1956. After a divorce in 1963, Irene Krumpelmann attended the University of Minnesota to renew her teaching career. During the years 1965-1966, she served in Liberia with the Peace Corps teaching English, arithmetic, and science. Upon returning to St. Paul, Irene Krumpelmann began teaching the 5th grade class at Maxfield school but was then transferred to Roosevelt school where she taught a 4th grade class. Krupelmann retired from teaching after the 1976-1977 school year.

From the guide to the Irene Krumpelmann papers., 1908-1996 (bulk 1965-1996)., (Minnesota Historical Society)