Irwin Stegmier was born on April 28, 1901 and earned two bachelor's degrees in Aerodynamic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Irwin married Elsa Geisendorf in 1925 and they had five children. On May 25, 1925, he was employed as a Mechanical Engineer by the Keeler Brass Company until he retired on June 1, 1967. Irwin Stegmier died on August 14, 1981.

Vincent Joseph Stegmier (usually called Joe) arrived in the United States in August 1891 on the steamship Oldenburg out of Bremerhaven, Germany. Joe's father, whose name is not given, had been killed in a barrel factory in Germany. Joe immigrated at the age of 16 with his grandfather, Johann Kruger. Both were from Wurtenburg, Germany and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Joe's first job in America was at Vidro’s tailor shop on Canal Street (now Monroe Avenue, north of Pearl Street). The shop suffered greatly during the Panic of 1893 and the ensuing national economic depression. Next, Joe worked in Paul Grubinger's saloon at 37 Bridge Street, NW. In 1917 Joe bought his own saloon at 300 Bridge Street NW and called it "The Bavarian." During Prohibition and the Great Depression, the saloon was a lunch stand.

In 1900 Joe was married to Carolina Brodersdorf (daughter of Johann Brodersdorf from Prussia, who arrived in Grand Rapids in 1875). They had one son, Irwin.