Fred was born on October 3, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. He
was adopted in 1932 by Sophie and Jack (Jacob) Klein of Sunnyside, Queens, N.Y.,
where he grew up, attending P.S. 150 through elementary school. Artistic and endowed with a
beautiful voice, Fred went on to the Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science
& Art, and the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan
(“Fame”). A
natural athlete, Fred spent much of his youth playing sand-lot baseball with
his friends, cousins, and best buddy, Bert Rattner. Old friends and family
remember him for his baseball prowess, which included many long hits over the
playground fence. Fred’s talent won him a contract with the New York Yankees,
but after one season his passion for art prevailed and he returned to his studies
at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine art.
Not known as an outdoorsman, Fred nevertheless spent
grade-school summers at camp in the Catskills, and after high school the Wild
West beckoned. During the summers, Fred and his friends hitch-hiked cross-country
to brief jobs at Saint Joe National Forest in Idaho, then to work at a gas station in Yellowstone National Park in
Wyoming. It was while he was out west that Fred met new friends who brought him
to Minnesota in 1954 to attend graduate school at the University, where he
created his own graphic design program. At the University, Fred met fellow
student Enid Gardner, whom he married in 1955. Fred and Enid had three
children, Paul, Philip, and Mia, and lived in Edina for 25 years. Fred could
often be found supervising neighborhood pool parties in the backyard and coaching
boys’ baseball and girls’ softball teams.
In 1957 Fred joined Honeywell Inc. as a graphic designer and
led the art department in Advertising and Sales Promotion (now known as Marketing),
eventually being promoted to Director of Corporate Identification and
Design, aka
Captain Identity. His early career was in the heyday of the
“Mad Men” era, including hours-long lunches of scotch-and-soda and steak tartare at Charlie's...Fred thoroughly enjoyed his work for 38 years, making many life-long
friends along the way. Among his many accomplishments, Fred helped launch
Honeywell’s first website without ever touching a computer himself. Fred
also designed a course in graphic design for the University of Minnesota’s
Extension Program, which he taught for 17 years.
Several years after Enid’s death, Fred met Maria and her then
2-year-old daughter, Amalia. The two married in 1975, becoming a lively blended
family of six. Out went the pool parties, Hamburger Helper, and canned peas,
and in came the Christmas caroling parties, broccoli, and daily salads. But
that didn’t stop Fred from taking his children, the neighbor children, and
eventually his grandchildren to get ice cream at DQ, Swensen’s, Bridgeman’s,
Baskin Robbins, Sebastian Joe’s, and Pops, an Alexandria, VA favorite. For many years, Fred kept active playing in fast-pitch softball leagues, competitive tennis and ping pong games with family and friends.
Fred's lifelong passion for music and art and
belief in justice for all fueled his commitment to community art programs. He
served a term on the Minneapolis Arts Commission, created the corporate art
gallery at Honeywell that launched the careers of numerous local artists, and
was a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. He also served for many years as president of his condo association's board of directors.
After Fred’s retirement, Fred and Maria traveled extensively,
attended movies and art performances, and spent as much time as possible with their
children and six grandchildren, all of which he chronicled in many journals,
poems, and letters to family and friends. Beloved for his postcards,
greeting-card envelopes, birthday songs, folk songs, numerous dialects, Irish ballads and faux-Italian arias, Fred gave the best hugs to his extended family
and friends at every opportunity.
Five years ago, Fred was diagnosed with mild cognitive
impairment, which developed into dementia far too quickly. Despite the memory
loss, Fred kept abreast of local and national politics, reading the Star Tribune
daily and watching the PBS News Hour nightly, followed by all 21 seasons of
Midsomer Murders – all with weekly calls to check in with his family, who were
his life-long passion and always a priority.
Last year Fred developed cancer, though its specific nature
and origin remain unknown. This diagnosis during the COVID pandemic inspired
the family to come to Minnesota for two months in the summer of 2020 to spend as much
time together as possible. His family will always remember, and be grateful
for, this special time and the new memories we created and favorite stories we told
and retold.
Fred is survived by his wife, Maria; children Paul of Edina;
Philip (Brigid) of Alexandria, VA; Mia Montpas (Mark Kelly) of Palos Verdes, CA;
and Amalia Stott (Gordon) of Edina; and his six adoring grandchildren:
Elizabeth, Michael, Emma, Ava, Eleanor and Alexandra; as well as many
siblings-in-law and their families.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Fred’s elementary school – P.S. 150 Queens, where an ice cream social will be held in his honor (hopefully this fall!). In the meantime, donations may be sent via PayPal to ps150qpta@gmail.com or mailed to "PS150Q PTA, ATTN: Erin Lisowski, 40-01 43rd Avenue, Sunnyside, NY 11104." Please designate Fred Klein in the memo of the check or on PayPal. PS150Q PTA is a not-for-profit corporation 501(c)3. Tax ID: 46-3880183.
