The Family of - The Klein Connection

Part 11
The Family of
Carl Alphonse Klein
and Mary Magdelene
Friederichs
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From "A Klein Family History 1815 - 1981" by Dorothy Klein Luers
Chapter IX – Carl – June 25, 1904 – September 29, 1972
When this last baby was born to Angela and Emil, the youngest brother was three years old and the oldest
was eighteen. Carl really was the baby of the family and fuss over him they must have. It is not known how
many years of school Carl had at St. Hubert, but he should have been a scholar far beyond grade school.
Anything he took to or studied he could master.
Carl went into the Army in 1942 and got into radio work there. When or where he learned electricity or
woodworking is not known but he did both. It was hard to put down a special job he worked at for any period
of time. He lived with his folks during the depression when jobs were hard to find.
Being a serious person, Carl, would not enter marriage without employment to provide wages needed to start
a household. And so after his Army duty, he came back home only to continue drifting. The pattern was set
and so he became an alcoholic, from bad to worse until he was finally committed to the hospital at Willmar.
Therapy at the hospital lead him to the woodworking shop, which gave him a real activity and a goal. Many
prayers were answered, for he recovered from his illness. He stayed on and became a well-paid instructor in
the woodworking department. A nurse here caught his eye and so on October 16, 1954, he married Mary
Friederichs. Getting a late start in life at age fifty, Carl, began his family and earned for himself a very
honorable name in the community. On the shore of Green Lake at Spicer, he and Mary built a beautiful home
along with a grand family.
In the fall of 1971, Carl started ailing and cancer took his life on September 29, 1972. The homily or eulogy
at his funeral told of the Papal Award given him in former years by the church for his never ceasing time and
work for the church. He was instrumental in acquiring ground for the building of a church in this anti-Catholic
community. And then the entire inside woodwork was done or directed by him.
Carl was a quiet, good man who accomplished in a fourth of his lifetime what the rest of us do in our whole
time. Too bad Angela never saw her prayers answered.
Mary married Vernon Spartz, on December 21, 1976 and they now live in New London, MN
Carl with Margie and John
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Top, Left, the kids boating; right, Carl in the service; middle, the children with Cousin
Steve Klein's "Prairie Schooner”;
lower, Carl's Family: Marjorie, John, Mary, Patrick and Laura
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Left, John, Margie and Laura; Right, Vernon and Mary Spartz (Vernon is Mary's
second husband); lower, Carl and Mary's grandchildren
Obituary
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Obituary, Carl Klein
Funeral services for Carl Klein, 68 of Spicer were held Oct. 2 at Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church,
Spicer, with Fathers Robert Merth, Darold Lehman and Raymond Marschall officiating.
Special music was presented by Jeff Henderson, vocal soloist, and Mrs. Ray Benoit, organist. Pallbearers
were Rolf Arnesen, Bernard Gundershaug, Art Midby, Lawrence Taylor, Orland Donner and Raymond Miller.
Interment was in the church cemetery.
Carl Klein was born June 26, 1904, at Chanhassen to the late Eugene and Angela Klein. He grew up in
Chanhassen. On Nov. 11, 1954, he married Mary Friederichs of Breckenridge. They then moved to Spicer. He
was a carpenter at the Willmar State Hospital for 20 years, retiring in December of 1969. He died Sept. 29,
1972 at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by four brothers. He is survived by his widow, Mary;
two daughters, Marjorie and Laura; two sons, John and Patrick; and three sisters, Mrs. Laura Marschall and
Mrs. Mary Kerber, both of Shakopee, and Catherine of Winsted.
Our Lady of Lakes Catholic Cemetery, Spicer, MN
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Sister Marjorie Carol Klein
Margie has been a nun for 30 plus years and loves what she is doing. She has taught school for ten years and
then went on to be a retreat director. At present, she is formation director for School Sisters of Notre Dame in
Mankato and lives in St. Paul.
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John, Karla, Alicia and Lawrence Klein Family
John and his wife Karla (Kahl) live in Washburn, ND. They have two children, Alicia, born July 27, 1984 in
Buffalo, WY and Lawrence (LJ) who was born November 1, 1989 in Gillette, WY. John works as a mechanic
at a coal mine nearby. They are active in their church and have recently taken on remodeling an old home.
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Pat, Sue, Matthew and Sarah Klein
Pat and Sue were married December 27, 1980 in Sumner, IA. They had two children, Matthew, born
November 10, 1982 and Sarah, born January 30, 1985. Both of the children were born in Des Plaines, IL. Pat
would be 49 years of age, but he passed away in February 21, 1987 from brain cancer. Up until his death, he
was a golf course superintendent and loved the golf business. He left a wife, Sue, and Matthew, age 4 and
Sarah, age 2. His passing left a big void in the Klein family and he is missed. Sue married Steve Oldani,
August 1, 1998. His children are now in college and doing well. Pat is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in
Spicer, near his father, Carl.
In Memory of Patrick Eugene Klein
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Laura, Ellarry and Mary Jo Prentice
Laura and her daughters, Ellary Kaye, born August 27, 1988 and Mary Jo, born September 17, 1992, live near
Paynesville, MN. According to their mother, she has wonderful girls and they are blessed to be happy and
healthy. They live on Rice Lake outside of Paynesville. They spend quite a bit of time in Eden Valley with
Laura's friend, Bill and his son and daughter. Laura is employed by the US Postal Service in Waite Park, MN.
Right, Laura and friend Bill;
center, Ellary Kaye;
lower, Mary Jo
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In Memory of
Baby Girl Klein,
May 11, 1963 – May 11, 1963
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