Irma Springer Wedemeyer
October 1, 1932 ~ March 1, 2019
Irma Springer Wedemeyer
October 1, 1932 - March 1, 2019
Irma Springer Wedemeyer, age 86, died peacefully on March 1, 2019. Irma Allegonda Kuypers was born in Portland, Oregon on October 1, 1932. She grew up in Portland and attended Jefferson High School. In 1952, Irma married Edward Hugh Springer, also a Portland native. Edward joined the Foreign Service, and as a Foreign Service couple, Edward and Irma lived, worked, and raised a family in Honolulu, Hawaii; Queens, New York; Beirut, Lebanon; Cairo, Egypt; Port Said, Egypt; Tehran, Iran; and Tripoli, Libya, before moving to Northern Virginia. Irma loved her time abroad, getting to know new people, cultures, and languages. She looked forward to hosting parties in the cities where she lived, with large gatherings for July 4th a specialty. Irma avidly collected artwork and antiquities from her years in the Middle East, and these items always graced her home.
Irma relished being a mother to her six children: Maria, Lisa, Edward John, Joseph, Anna, and Catherine. Her loving energy made life fun and exciting. She took her family on trips to such places as Persepolis, Tunis, Zurich, and Paris; she volunteered for school plays and dances; and she hosted parties for her children and their friends, gaining the reputation for making the best hamburgers ever in Port Said and Tehran. When the family moved back to the US, Irma worked full-time as a mortgage loan underwriter, first for private companies and then for Freddie Mac. She continued to travel, visiting her children as they settled into their adult lives and had children of their own.
Irma was widowed in 1982 at the age of 49 and years later, at age 62, fell in love with and then married Albert Dunbar Wedemeyer. They resided at his family home in Poolesville, Maryland for many years before moving to Vienna, Virginia. She was widowed a second time in 2006.
Irma was preceded in death by husband Edward Hugh Springer, son Edward John Springer, grandson Edward Paul Springer, sister Hilde Wolstenholme, and husband Albert Wedemeyer. She is survived by five children: Maria Springer, Lisa Springer, Joseph Springer, Anna Wolcott and Catherine Springer; fifteen grandchildren: Laura Springer Mahoney, Nathanael Smith, Victoria Smith, Evangeline Smith, Rebekah Smith, Alex Springer, Caroline Springer, Emma Wolcott, Abba Wolcott, Nora Wolcott, Benjamin Wolcott, Aviv Springer-Galst, Naomi Springer-Galst, Isabel Bradford, and Colette Bradford; and one great-grandchild, Elle Mahoney.
Friends and family will be notified of memorial services. Internment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to World Wildlife Fund or to Disabled American Veterans.
October 1, 1932 - March 1, 2019
Irma Springer Wedemeyer, age 86, died peacefully on March 1, 2019. Irma Allegonda Kuypers was born in Portland, Oregon on October 1, 1932. She grew up in Portland and attended Jefferson High School. In 1952, Irma married Edward Hugh Springer, also a Portland native. Edward joined the Foreign Service, and as a Foreign Service couple, Edward and Irma lived, worked, and raised a family in Honolulu, Hawaii; Queens, New York; Beirut, Lebanon; Cairo, Egypt; Port Said, Egypt; Tehran, Iran; and Tripoli, Libya, before moving to Northern Virginia. Irma loved her time abroad, getting to know new people, cultures, and languages. She looked forward to hosting parties in the cities where she lived, with large gatherings for July 4th a specialty. Irma avidly collected artwork and antiquities from her years in the Middle East, and these items always graced her home.
Irma relished being a mother to her six children: Maria, Lisa, Edward John, Joseph, Anna, and Catherine. Her loving energy made life fun and exciting. She took her family on trips to such places as Persepolis, Tunis, Zurich, and Paris; she volunteered for school plays and dances; and she hosted parties for her children and their friends, gaining the reputation for making the best hamburgers ever in Port Said and Tehran. When the family moved back to the US, Irma worked full-time as a mortgage loan underwriter, first for private companies and then for Freddie Mac. She continued to travel, visiting her children as they settled into their adult lives and had children of their own.
Irma was widowed in 1982 at the age of 49 and years later, at age 62, fell in love with and then married Albert Dunbar Wedemeyer. They resided at his family home in Poolesville, Maryland for many years before moving to Vienna, Virginia. She was widowed a second time in 2006.
Irma was preceded in death by husband Edward Hugh Springer, son Edward John Springer, grandson Edward Paul Springer, sister Hilde Wolstenholme, and husband Albert Wedemeyer. She is survived by five children: Maria Springer, Lisa Springer, Joseph Springer, Anna Wolcott and Catherine Springer; fifteen grandchildren: Laura Springer Mahoney, Nathanael Smith, Victoria Smith, Evangeline Smith, Rebekah Smith, Alex Springer, Caroline Springer, Emma Wolcott, Abba Wolcott, Nora Wolcott, Benjamin Wolcott, Aviv Springer-Galst, Naomi Springer-Galst, Isabel Bradford, and Colette Bradford; and one great-grandchild, Elle Mahoney.
Friends and family will be notified of memorial services. Internment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to World Wildlife Fund or to Disabled American Veterans.
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To Irma’s family,
We are so very sorry to learn of Irma’s passing. She was a good friend and neighbor to us in Oakborough Square. Sending you all love.
Rich and Peg Alpin