Dr. James D. Klein, Sr., 89, died at his home on Sunday, May 1, 2011.
A memorial service will be held June 26, 2011 at 4:00 pm in the Walla Walla University Church. Private inurnment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery, College Place, Washington.
Memorial contributions may be made to Sonbridge Community Center or Gospel Outreach through Mountain View – Colonial DeWitt, 1551 Dalles Military Road, Walla Walla, Washington 99362.
James David Klein, Sr. was born September 22, 1921 in Tacoma, Washington, the eldest of seven children born to Andrew and Phoebe Raymond Klein. His father worked as a steamfitter in the Todd Shipyards, and his mother was a grade school teacher until starting their family.
From 1923 to 1943 the Kleins lived on South Dakota farms in the vicinities of Mobridge, Wak Pala, Lake Preston, De Smet, Oldham, and Arlington. As James grew up he helped his dad who worked as a peddler and hired hand for many farmers.
James graduated from Plain View Academy, South Dakota in 1941 and attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, whereupon he was drafted into the U.S. Army on August 15, 1942. In the signal corps he was trained in electronics and radar, and in the medical corps he was trained as an X-ray technician.
In the spring of 1944 he met Miss Mabel Nobbe who was a secretary and librarian for the Review & Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park, Maryland. A few months later he was attached as a medic to the 89th Infantry Division and shipped to the European Theatre of action where he proposed to Mabel by mail. His company marched from La Harve, France to the Czech border, and helped liberate the first concentration camp (Ohrdruf) discovered by the Allies.
After the war, James and Mabel were married March 21, 1946 in Worthington, Ohio. From 1946 to 1948 they lived in College Place, Washington, where he was a pre-med student at Walla Walla University. His son, James, Jr., was born during this time, and his daughter, Kathleen, was born while he was a medical student at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California (1948-1952).
Dr. Klein interned at the Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington (1952-1953), and first set up medical practice in Moses Lake, Washington (1953-1954).
He was invited to continue the practice of Dr. Walter Seibly in Clarkston, Washington while Dr. Seibly was called to duty from the Air Force reserves. Dr. Klein continued in private practice as a family practitioner in Clarkston, treating over 37,000 patients until his retirement in 1991. In 1995 James and Mabel moved to College Place to be near their children and grandchildren during retirement.
Dr. Klein served in many leadership positions. He was chief of staff at Tri-State Memorial Hospital when it opened in 1955. He also was president of the Asotin County Medical Society, and the Asotin County Cancer Society. He served as an elder in the Lewiston, Idaho Seventh-day Adventist Church.
James had an inquiring mind and enjoyed the sciences and electronics. The transition from tube-based electronics to solid state electronics fascinated him. He loved tinkering in his shop, inventing solutions to fixing things that were broken. He practiced the disciplines of healthful living in diet and exercise. Snow skiing, swimming, and jogging with his wife were favorite activities. For 24 years (1984-2007), he and his wife participated in Bloomsday Races in Spokane. He died peacefully on Bloomsday, 2011, wearing his Bloomsday T-shirt from 1989.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Marie Claridge; three brothers, Andy, Ben, and Gordon Klein; and his wife Mabel.