Jack E. Klein, a Joplin resident passed away peaceably on July 1, 2020 at the age of 97½ years. He was born in Kansas City, KS on November 14, 1922 to Hazel Vivian and Harold Raymond Klein, who was a veteran of World War I.
Jack graduated from Paseo High School in Kansas City, MO, and attended college at Oklahoma State University where he was in the ROTC. During the summers and holidays, he worked for his father in Tulsa, OK reclaiming oil refinery equipment.
Jack was drafted into World War II while a junior in college. Jack served in the Army 7th Infantry Division as a 2nd Lieutenant, and was injured in Holland on October 29, 1944. He spent time in recovery in England and then three years at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, PA where he was much loved by the nurses and dieticians, some of whom became lifelong friends.
He was released from active duty and the hospital as a 1st Lieutenant in 1948. Jack was a 100% Disabled Veteran of World War II, earning a Purple Heart for his sacrifice and service to our country.
Jack returned to OSU, finishing with an undergraduate degree in Animal Husbandry, then earned a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics. He worked for ten years as an Agricultural Economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC and Berkeley, California. During this time he was an avid pilot and owned three small planes.
He met and married his first wife in California and had a son. Keith Raymond Klein lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife Tanya and Jack’s grandson, Raymond. In the early sixties, Jack put his animal husbandry degree to use when he moved to Neosho, Missouri and bought a farm where he raised Arabian horses and other livestock.
Jack attended Harmony Heights Baptist Church in Joplin, where he met his future wife Alice Boyd Klein. They were married on May 2, 1981, and just celebrated 39 wonderful years. Alice brought three children to the marriage.
Jack was proud of all of his children, Keith Klein (Tanya Klein), Robin Whatley (Bob Shipman), Chip Whatley (Yvette Pettit), Sarah Hoagland (Craig Hoagland); grandchildren, Raymond Klein, Dalton Candelaria, Paloma Whatley, and Bethany Hoagland, and they adored him. In Joplin, Jack also worked for the Area Agency on Aging and the Economic Security Corporation of the Southwest Area. After retirement, he and Alice moved to their beloved Destin, Florida for three years and then returned to Missouri to be near family. Jack has many family and friends all around the area who will miss him greatly.
Jack E. Klein Visitation: 8 AM to 11 AM, Friday, July 3, 2020
Simpson Funeral Home 400 W. Daugherty St., Webb City, Missouri
Graveside Service: 11:30 AM to 12:00 PM, Friday, July 3, 2020 Memorial of Timeless Honor Pavilion, Mount Hope Cemetery
3700 N Rangeline Rd, Webb City, Missouri
Services are under the direction of Simpson Funeral Home in Webb City. Visit www.simpsonfh.com for online condolences.
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