Former longtime Pacific Palisades resident Robert Francis Klein died on February 28 at Saint John’s Health Center at the age of 88. He was visiting family here when he suddenly passed away from the complications of a ruptured abdominal aneurysm. Born to Harry Klein and Francis Shea on our nation’s first Flag Day, June 14, 1916, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rob was raised in Wilmette, Illinois. He had a love affair with Pacific Palisades that began after arriving in California in 1940 with a childhood friend from Chicago. Rob began a career with McDonnell Douglas that spanned 38 years, until he retired at the age of 62 in 1978. Rob met his wife of 60 years, Barbara, a Los Angeles native, at Douglas in 1942. While residing in West Los Angeles, they purchased a vacant Palisades lot at 660 Bienveneda Avenue in the spring of 1948 for the lofty sum of $2,300. They borrowed $8,500 from Prudential Insurance for the construction of their home. Barbara says that at the time of their purchase, there was not much of anything along Sunset as you headed west from the village except for a lone real estate office. At that time, upper Bienveneda and the St. Matthew’s Parish property were avocado groves and a turkey ranch. The Kleins called 660 Bienveneda home from February of 1949 until they sold their home in 1981 to move north to Turlock, in the Central Valley, to be closer to their three daughters and grandchildren. They made frequent return visits to the Palisades to see family and friends. Rob is survived by his wife Barbara and his four children: daughters Caryl Dennis Ray Brewer, Diane Lee Ford Parker and Joanie Klein Griggs, all of Turlock; a son, Robert O. Klein of the Palisades; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. At a recent family gathering, Rob recounted for the family (as he was fond of doing) the many wonderful attributes that attracted him to the Palisades and that he enjoyed while living here: the beautiful Santa Monica mountains where he loved to hike, the blue Pacific Ocean that was the perfect venue for bodysurfing and beach volleyball, the community of Pacific Palisades with its quaint village, and residents that seemed to possess a dedication to community service and enhancing the quality of life for young and old alike. Rob was an early member of the Palisades Men’s Club (where Village School is now located) and was one of the early coaches of the Palisades Boys Baseball Association at the Recreation Center. At that time, it was the only organized youth sports activity in the Palisades. Rob and Barbara were also one of the founding families of Corpus Christi Parish in 1950. Rob’s life was celebrated by family and friends at a memorial Mass at Corpus Christi Church on March 3. He was remembered for his devotion to his family, his love of the Palisades and its environs, and his strong sense of his Irish heritage. On February 26, while on an extended visit here prior to surgery, Rob went with family members to the Palisades High School gym to watch Caitlin and Michaela Keefe, twin 7-year-old great-granddaughters, practice their basketball. ‘He insisted we take a four-generation photo with his son, grandson and great-grandson, who all live in the Palisades,’ said daughter-in-law JoAnn Klein. ‘I’m so grateful we did.’
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