When Alvena Ernastina Helmke was born on 20 February 1890, in Renwick, Humboldt, Iowa, United States, her father, Claus Jurgen Helmke, was 36 and her mother, Dora Sofia Kuehl, was 26. She married Fred J. Klasse on 30 September 1909, in Renwick, Humboldt, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 1 daughter. She lived in Boone Township, Boone, Iowa, United States in 1900. She died on 11 December 1963, in Gardena, Los Angeles, California, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Gardena, Los Angeles, California, United States.