Marv and I became friends in the mid 1990s, during my pastorate at a church in Renton. He was the chair of our church during a difficult season for the church and for me. We spent many hours together in conversation and prayer. I will always remember and cherish Marv as a loyal, caring friend in need who showed himself to be a friend in deed--a man of genuine, Christ-like strength who reflected the gentleness of Jesus. I witnessed that quality of character in the love he had for his family and in the way he conducted himself in all his relationships.

Marv and I found a common bond, not only in our faith and commitment to Christ and His church, but we also shared a love for airplanes. A special moments was when Marv, Nathan and I witnessed the maiden flight of Boeing’s New Generation 737-800. .... We will meet again.

Pastor Ray

Marv was a volunteer in my kindergarten classroom at Meridian Elementary and particularly enjoyed working with my students on math skills.  The students were instructed to call Barb and Marv "Mr. and Mrs. Kleven."  One day he called one of my students up to work with him.  The student said "please don't call me by my first name, please call me Mr. [last name]."  Marv got such a kick out of the fact that one of my students wanted to be called by his last name that he continued to call him that for the remainder of the year.

Marv was such a caring and wonderful role model for the students in my classroom.  Each day the students would say "thank you Mr. and Mrs. Kleven" in unison as Barb and Marv left the classroom and would ask frequently about when they would return.

Marv, room 109 will miss you a great deal!  Thank you for everything and for truly making a difference in 20 little lives this year. 

Marv was not my dad, he was not my uncle or even my brother.  Marv was my friend.  I met Marv almost 7 years ago when I was first paralyzed.  He came to visit me in my hospital room at the VA hospital in Seattle.  Instantly a friendship begin to kindle.

It's funny how the Lord works.  A friend of mine from my church in Emmett, Idaho knew a Pastor in Seattle...and he called him and asked if he would come and visit...which he did.  Only a meeting the Lord could orchestrate....the Pastor just happen to pastor the church where Marv & Barb attended.   

Soon, one Sunday after church he brought is lovely wife Barb to meet me.  He must of thought I was pretty special to introduce me to his wife...Barb is so very kind and very sweet.

When my wife came to Seattle to accompany me home I thought I would return the favor and introduce my wife to him.  Yep...I thought he was pretty special too.  My wife and I accompanied Marv & Barb to a local restaurant.  Marv & I had the trout.

Every year when I went to Seattle I would give them a call and let them know I was coming.  They would always come and visit me even after Marv retired.  I so enjoyed our visits and the stories Marv would tell.  This is one friend I will miss very much.  I am stunned that he is no longer here. My trips to Seattle every year will no longer be the same.

Few times in life do we have the fortune of knowing someone so special.  Marv...I will never forget...and one day I will see him again.

God bless all of you.

In memory of Marv Kleven

I have several “stories” that I could share about my brother Marv. Stories of our youth; when I drove his car at age 14 and had an accident, when Marv first met Barb, when Marv married Barb, etc. However the most memorable is a fish story.

People who really know me know that I truly enjoy fishing. What very few, if any, know that Marv was the real reason.

 When I was 4 years old and Marv was 6, I would constantly talk about going fishing. One night we planned, got the equipment ready, packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and camped out on the living room floor in preparation. I remember our parents whispering and giggling about what we were up to and that we wouldn’t actually do it – ‘Dickie’ is such a dreamer.

At 4 AM the next morning, Marv and I woke up and headed for the lake. We put our gear and sandwiches in a small wooden boat and launched our adventure. As the morning sun began to rise, I did my best to throw a red and white Daredevil as far as I could. And, has luck would have it, I hooked a fish. Also, as luck would have it, it was a “big” one.

Marv and I worked hard to land the fish which turned out to be a 30” Northern Pike. Just as we finally got it into the boat, we both heard the fearful yelling of both of our parents. Our mother feared for our life’s while our father agonized which one of us would get the cherry branch first.

Marv got the biggest cherry branch because he was the oldest and should have known better. I got one on the butt to, but I also caught a fish that I will never forget. So Marv is the reason that one of my truly enjoyable things to do is fishing!

The cherry tree only lived another 5 years, mostly because of me, but my memories of you will last forever. God be with you brother Marv and all memories of you will always be the best.

Dick Kleven

Marv and Barb have been faithful volunteers at Meridian Elementary for a couple years.  Once when Barb came,  she apologized that Marv couldn't come because he "had to watch the refrigerator".  She explained that the new fridge had not been keeping food cool and the repairman had already been out, but they didn't think it was working right.  When Marv came back to kindergarten, he was relieved that he no longer had to "watch the refrigerator". 

Marv loved working with those little ones, especially working along side Barb.  He will truly be missed at Meridian!

I remember Marv in his roles as Biomedical Engineer and Union Steward at the VA.  Marv was a subject matter expert many of us came to rely on over the years, not just for his depth of knowledge about radiology equipment, but also because of he was responsive, reliable and always willing to help. 

Marv was compassionate and caring, serving his fellow employees as well as the veterans.  He helped me both professionally and personally many times over the years, and was always willing to take a few minutes to chat.

I will miss him.  

I always enjoyed the old stories that Uncle Marv would tell about his younger days.  Stories about growing up with his brothers and sisters on the family farm, raising a little *^%# with his brothers and learning that my mother was not the saint that she always claimed she was. They were always fun to hear.  It seemed that every time Uncle Marv visit had a new one to share.
My favorite story was when he talked about his miltary experiences.  I believe he served as a MP and he was station in Liverpool England.  He was assigned to cover an area around a little club called "The Cavern" which had a new musical group playing called "The Beatles".  He would state that "he know The Beatles before they were famous." 
When talking about music-Uncle Marv would make statement that would drive his daughter and I crazy. But Theresa, I believe he was enjoying watching us react to him.

Uncle Marv you will be missed.  Aunt Barb, Theresa, Nathan and Jennifer you're in my thoughts and prayers..  

My fondest memory of Uncle Marv was when he flew from Washington to Wisconsin with Nate a few years ago.  They stopped by my grandma's to visit and offered to take us for a ride in the plane.  My fiance Mitch got to ride shotgun while my brother Sean and I rode in the back.  Mitch even got to "take the wheel" for awhile.  We flew over my hometown of Janesville and even got to see our house from above.  The experience was truly amazing.  

Uncle Marv was a wonderful, caring, and loving person, and he will truly be missed!

One of my fondest childhood memories with Dad was our summer trip to the cabin in Waupaca, WI.  We would get up at the break of dawn and head down to the "Chain of Lakes."   As the name would suggest, the Chain of Lakes is a bunch of small lakes that are connected by small passages.  These lakes are where Dad taught me to fish and row a boat.  I remember one day we did really well and caught many fish.  They weren't very big, but still big enough to take home for a fish fry.  One of the fish actually swallowed the hook.   We took the fish home to the family for dinner and I can't remember why, but for some reason we left them on the porch as we cleaned up.  When we came back to get the fish, we were surprised to find a raccoon had gotten into the fish pale.   We nick-named the raccoon Ricky and we saw him a couple more times that trip.  We were convinced that he wouldn't be too happy when he found out that he ate a fish with a hook in it's stomach.  :)
 
Chain of Lakes on Google Maps

Thanks for the awesome memory Dad!  You were the greatest Dad I could have ever asked for and I cherish the time we spent together.

If you've got a memory of Dad/Grandpa/Brother/Uncle Marv, please share it here.  We'd love to hear and share it.