Dr. Iris M. Krupp

On May 18, 2026, Dr. Iris M. Krupp passed away peacefully at her home at the age of 98, bringing to a close a life of extraordinary intellect, tireless inquiry, generosity, and quiet elegance. Her nearly century-long journey carried her across continents and disciplines, through laboratories and lecture halls, clinics and classrooms, always guided by a profound curiosity about the natural world and a steadfast devotion to healing.

Born on May 1, 1928, to Philip and Ione White Krupp, Iris distinguished herself early as a scholar whose ambitions reached beyond convention. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University before pursuing graduate and medical studies at Tulane University, where she obtained her master’s degree, PhD, and ultimately her MD. During her graduate training, she served as a research assistant on Tulane’s Amebiasis Project in the Department of Parasitology, beginning what would become an internationally respected career in tropical medicine and medical research.

Following completion of her doctorate, Dr. Krupp continued postgraduate studies in 1959 at Hammersmith Hospital in London, England, then one of the foremost centers of medical research in the world. Her work thereafter took her far beyond New Orleans, serving as principal investigator for the Amebiasis Research Project in Cali, Colombia, and Durban, South Africa, from 1959 to 1967. At Tulane University, she held successive appointments as Instructor and Assistant Professor of Parasitology before becoming Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, with joint appointment to the Department of Tropical Medicine.

Her career reflected an uncommon breadth of knowledge and purpose. During the 1970s, Dr. Krupp provided research and educational consultancy to the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, while also serving as Consultant in Tropical Diseases to the Office of the Surgeon General. In 1976, she began a long and distinguished private practice in dermatology while simultaneously serving as Clinical Associate Professor of Dermatology at Tulane Medical Center, where she mentored students and residents with the same rigor she applied to her own work.

Dr. Krupp belonged to numerous professional societies, including the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American Academy of Dermatology, the International Society of Tropical Dermatology, and the International Society for the Study of Vulvar Disease. Her accomplishments earned recognition in numerous national and international biographical publications, including Who’s Who in America, Leaders in American Science, and World Who’s Who of Women. Her pioneering work in tropical medicine also drew national and international attention, including features by the BBC and the CBS program 60 Minutes during the 1970s.

Yet those who knew Iris beyond her professional accomplishments remember not only her formidable intellect, but also her fiercely independent spirit and wide-ranging passions. In her younger years, she was an accomplished equestrian who competed successfully in regional jumping competitions with her horse, Sky-Hi, a pursuit whose discipline, precision, and quiet partnership suited her perfectly. Her love of horses endured throughout her life, and for a time she maintained a small farm where she raised and cared for several of them with characteristic devotion. She likewise delighted in dogs, cultivating orchids and gardening, finding in them a quieter counterbalance to the intensity of her professional world. A proud and lifelong member of the Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans, she remained deeply connected to the traditions and social fabric of her beloved city. Travel remained one of her enduring joys, especially journeys through Germany and Switzerland, places whose order, beauty, and history appealed deeply to her sensibilities. Family members still smile recalling her steadfast refusal ever to accompany them into France — a preference maintained with such determination that, during one European trip, she simply remained behind in Germany while her brother P.J. continued on to Paris alone.

To her family, Iris was a figure of immense capability, intelligence, and dignity, but also warmth, wit, and unwavering loyalty. She was predeceased by her parents, Philip and Ione Krupp; her brothers, Joseph Krupp and Philip Krupp Jr.; her husband, Robert E. Post; and her nephew, Erik Krupp. She is survived by Philip J. Krupp III, Christen Miller, Stephanie Krupp, Philip Krupp II, Carolyn Krupp, Deborah Krupp, and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews, all of whom carry forward memories of her remarkable life and singular character.

Dr. Iris M. Krupp belonged to a generation of physician-scientists whose work quietly shaped modern medicine through discipline, scholarship, and perseverance rather than public acclaim. She leaves behind not only a distinguished professional legacy, but also the enduring example of a life lived with purpose, curiosity, independence, and grace.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, beginning at 12:00pm at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, followed by a Memorial Mass at 2:00pm. Interment in All Saints Mausoleum in Metairie Cemetery.