Gail Kumm Cleary
The Kumm and Cleary names are synonymous with the City of La Crosse, so it should come as no surprise that Gail’s life reflects a profound love and commitment to La Crosse; the place she calls home.
Her roots run deep including five generations in the Coulee Region. Her love of La Crosse was fostered by the actions of her parents, Roy and Hope Kumm who were her role models and generously supported the community. Her father started working at the G. Heileman Brewing Company as a bookkeeper, eventually rising to president and CEO. Her mother was a homemaker and very involved in the community, serving on numerous boards. Upon the death of Roy in 1971, Gail’s husband Russ assumed the role of president, building Heileman’s into one of the largest and most successful breweries in the country. During this time, Gail and Russ continued their strong support of La Crosse including, the Oktoberfest celebration. Quoting the Fest of Times book, the “Kumms, Clearys are a part of the Oktoberfest Legacy.” The family has supported Oktoberfest since the festival was created in 1961, and Gail continues to be instrumental in building Oktoberfest to the national recognition it enjoys today.
Gail graduated from UW-La Crosse with an elementary school teaching degree. While helping Russ through law school in Madison, she worked as an educator as well as running a rooming house to help make ends meet. The Clearys continued to have ties at UW-Madison with Russ serving on the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Board. As recognition of their support, in 2002, The Cleary Lab was designated in the biochemistry building. Gail’s training as an educator led her to have a passion for assuring each child has an opportunity in life. She has served and supported numerous organizations including the Girl Scouts where she was the first woman from western Wisconsin elected to the National Board and awarded the highest national honor of a “Thanks Badge”. Since then, Gail has represented Girl Scouts nationally and internationally chairing the National Board Task Group which founded the first Girl Scouts USA Alumnae Organization; Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater La Crosse (inducted into the Wall of Fame 2002); Western Technical College (received the Award of Excellence 2002) and serving on the community boards of the Family and Children’s Center, Salvation Army, First Presbyterian Church and a broad array of other community organizations.
She co-chaired the UW-L Life Science Building Campaign and has endowed numerous scholarships for La Crosse students so they have the chance to attend great schools like Viterbo University, UW-L and WTC.
The Kumm Center at WTC and the Cleary Center at UW-L are also examples which reflect the deep commitment Gail and her family have demonstrated to the area.
Gail remains strongly invested in the economic growth of La Crosse as president of Cleary Management Corporation, the Cleary-Kumm Foundation and International Furniture. She is a board member of State Bank Financial, a member of the Viterbo Board of Advisors, and a board member of the WTC Foundation.
Her favorite pastime is spending time with her daughters, Kristine and Sandra, and her five grandchildren.