When she accepted her diploma in 1964 as Kewaunee High School’s valedictorian, Jean Krohn Doell ’68 had no idea that she was embarking on a life that would meld learning, teaching, business, and community service.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison was an important companion in her journey.
“My classes and experience at UW–Madison brought the world to life,” she says. “I arrived at the university as a shy, timid freshman and left as a self-assured, confident young woman capable of leadership.”
Doell graduated in 1968 with a degree in Spanish. She went on to teach Spanish at high schools in Green Bay and at her alma mater, Kewaunee High School.
During the 1970s, she was also a bookkeeper on the side for the family cheese-production business, Krohn Dairy Products. When her father retired in 1978, Doell, her husband, and two brothers took over the firm’s ownership, and she served as its office manager until the sale of the company in 2000.
UW–Madison was a big part of the firm’s success, she says.
“We profited greatly from the research and guidance the Center for Dairy Research gave us,” she explains. “We also had employees take short courses there, and my brother and son went through the master cheesemaker program.”
“My classes and experience at UW–Madison brought the world to life.”
And, when Doell was diagnosed with breast cancer, she went to UW Hospital and Clinics for her treatment.
“That was 20 years ago, and I’m still here. And I’m pretty sure that has a lot to do with UW research,” she says.
Doell also wove award-winning community service into a busy life. She volunteered with Kewaunee County Scholarships, the American Diabetes Association, Friends of East Shore Industries, the Kewaunee Chamber of Commerce, and the Kewaunee County Library Services Board, among others.
She has also spent nearly 50 years as choir director and organist at St. Paul Lutheran Church.
Thank you to Kewaunee County for Jean Krohn Doell and her valuable contributions — both professional and personal — in her community, and for her continuing ties to the UW.
