Richard’s Obituary Richard J. Klein, 88, Green Bay, passed away on Friday, May 24, 2019, with dignity and grace, after a courageous battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was born January 12, 1931, in Milwaukee to Joseph and Evelyn (Eisold) Klein. Richard was raised in Milwaukee, spending much time on his grandparent’s farm in Oconomowoc.
He served as Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps from January 1948 to January 1950, receiving an honorable discharge. He then moved to Denver and relocated to Orange County, California, where he and his wife, Shirley, made their life with their daughter, Jody, and where he worked as a brake technician. From 1974 to 1979, Richard was a proud band booster and photographer for the Estancia Eagles Marching Band, photographing and video taping many parades, band reviews, trips and drum major competitions of his daughter, Jody and his now son-in-law, Craig.
Richard was a 30 plus year member of the BPOE #1959 Huntington Beach, California, which he enjoyed and was very proud of. In 1982 he and his wife returned to Milwaukee where he opened Fan-Tiquity, a fan and lighting store in Menominee Falls. In 2005, he and his wife moved to Little Suamico where they stayed until Shirley’s passing in December of 2015 and where he worked for Mader News Agency delivering newspapers to commercial accounts.
In 2016, Richard moved to Green Bay (Howard) to be closer to his daughter, Jody. Richard enjoyed being outdoors, spending time at his camper at Clay Lake with his wife, trout fishing with either his brothers-in-law or his good friend and fishing buddy, Don, playing cards, visiting the Botanical Gardens, eating root beer popsicles, attending classic car shows with his son-in-law, Craig, and playing bingo with his apartment building friends. His greatest joy was being with his family as he adored his three grandchildren, Kimberly, Joseph, and Travis, as that is what made him the happiest.
He had many friends and always made friends wherever he went. Richard is survived by his daughter and caregiver, Jody and her husband, Craig (or “chief” as Richard called him); his daughter, Cheryl (Greg) Berndt; four grandchildren, Kimberly, Joseph and Travis Morton, Neil Berndt; three great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; a niece, Andrea (Tim) Riebe; two great-nieces, Allison and Madison Riebe, one great-nephew, Jordan Riebe; brothers-in-law and their spouses, Roger and Kathy Sweet, George and Jan Sweet. He is further survived by many cousins and friends who he loved dearly.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his loving wife of 56 years, Shirley (Sweet) Klein; brother, Wayne Klein; and sister, Carol (Klein) Long. Friends may call at Blaney Funeral Home, 1521 Shawano Ave. , from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 8th.
The Memorial Service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. A private family burial with military honors will be at Riverside Cemetery on Sunday, June 9th. To send online condolences, please go to www.
BlaneyFuneralHome.com. Richard’s family extends a special thank you to his doctor and friend, Dr. Brian Burnette, the entire oncology physician team, nurses and staff at Green Bay Oncology and to the staff of St. Mary’s Hospital for their love, compassion and exceptional care.
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