Shirley Krogmeier
Shirley Frances Krogmeier was born to Alois S. Krogmeier and Elva Pearl Greene on Nov. 21, 1932, in Fort Madison, Iowa. She died July 13, 2022, at Sedgwick County Nursing Home in Julesburg after a two-year fight with cancer and a fall which broke her back. Her injury prevented her from the use of her lower body.
 Shirley attended Sacred Heart Catholic School in Fort Madison for the first eight years of her education. When the family moved to Holyoke on Aug. 26, 1946, she attended her high school years at Phillips County High School, graduating with salutatorian honors in 1950. After high school, she attended college at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1954 with degrees in English language and literature and German. After college, she taught at the Amherst school and in Aspen for a time.
She received master’s degrees in German and education in 1968 from University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, passed the preliminary exam for a Ph.D. in German and education in 1981 at University of Minneapolis, and completed work for English as a second language license in summer of 1981 at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
In 1956 she and a friend traveled abroad for a year. When the friend decided to come home, Shirley stayed in Germany, and while there she started her efforts to locate the Krogmeier relatives.
Her professional experience continued through the years 1954-2004. She tutored high school students in ESL, English speech, general math, biology and social studies after retirement. She taught ESL at Edison Senior High School. In addition, she led training sessions for ESL teachers on techniques for teaching ESL, especially how to adapt Profile of Learning high standard packages for use with ESL students. She served as cooperating teacher for Hamline University and the University of Minnesota ESL education programs.
Shirley spent four years in Thailand training Thai speakers at a refugee camp in ESL methods. She coordinated two federal ESL/bilingual grants, conducting training and career counseling sessions as a major part of her duties.
She served as assistant director and director of the Minneapolis Public School System and South Dakota summer language camps, again training teachers as part of her assignment. She trained ESL and bilingual teachers at Phanat Nikhom Refugee Processing Center in Thailand and wrote curriculum for ESL and German instruction.
She taught elementary school grades 4-8 in Colorado and U.S. Army Dependent Schools, Rochefort, France. She taught grade 7-8 German and English at Phillips Junior High School. She taught high school freshman English in Minneapolis, high school and college undergraduate German in Minneapolis, and English as a foreign language in Germany.
After returning home to Colorado, she continued teaching. She would substitute teach in Holyoke whenever needed and taught GED classes until the program transferred to Sterling.
After moving to Holyoke, she was very active in the Holyoke Arts Council, and when she was asked and if she was able, she would help wherever the need arose. Education was very important to her.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Tom, Gene, Vince, Joseph and Phillip Krogmeier; and sister, Betty Kafka.
Shirley is survived by her brother, Bill Krogmeier; sister, Dolores Haskell; and many nieces and nephews.
The rosary was recited July 19, and the funeral Mass was held July 20, both at St. Patrick Catholic Church, with Father Jerry Rohr officiating. Interment followed at the Holyoke Cemetery.
Baucke Funeral Home directed the service.