Julianne Klein

Our lives are diminished. Julie, my wife and best friend has left us. She was a devoted sister to Louise, Jane and Jay, and Meg (deceased), loving mother to Nate and Nick, grandmother to her beloved Olivia, cherished mother-in law of Thalia and Kelly, and daughter of Louise Clark ( deceased) and Maxwell Perrotta. She was a doting aunt and cousin to many more. She was a loving friend to my daughters, Gabriella and Hedya, beloved by our grandchildren, Lyla, Roni and Louis and cherished by my sisters, Susan and Barbara.

Julie was a force of nature. She possessed the energy and creative drive of several people, and was the embodiment of the expression, “multi- tasker”. When an idea came to her, no sooner was it conceived, than it was executed. She had a great contempt for procrastination, and did not know how to indulge in it. Julie was also a stickler for detail; she believed that no plan was complete unless perfectly seamless, from beginning to end. If a motivator or leader were needed, she always filled that role with relish, but without any expectation of praise, simply because she felt duty bound. But her sense of duty came from a deep consideration of other's needs, ahead of her own; it came entirely from love. She would always be available to others, family or friends, when the need arose. Many would attest to it.

Julianne Klein was an adventurer. She followed her callings wherever they pointed. As a young married woman she joined the “back to the land” movement, homesteading in Vermont with her young family of two sons, Nathan and Nicholas. Later, finding herself broke and divorced, she acquired a Real Estate License, then attended Travel Agent school. She found a calling here as it offered a challenge to her talent for creatively organizing complex itineraries. She was voted the top travel agent in Boston many times over. But this profession appealed to her mainly because she was a passionate traveler with a very keen eye for the unique and exotic details of the places she visited and lived in (she worked for six months as a chef on a yacht moored off the coast of Turkey, and her cooking abilities were legendary). We travelled the world together, and Julie was the best travel companion I could ever have wished for.

Travel led her to the pursuit of photography as a serious passion. When I first saw Julie's photos I recognized that she had a superb eye for subject and composition and encouraged her to take courses. She was a quick study and before long, Julie created four books of photos in exquisitely designed formats. These works will be displayed along with her prints at an exhibit at the Fort Point Art Community Gallery during the month of May. It will be a fitting testimony to her considerable talent.

Julie was also a deeply spiritual person, and her world view led her to embrace the Jewish faith, where she found great sustenance.

Julie was a lover of flowers, plants, animals, and all things living. She was a great cook, a voracious reader, and had an insatiable curiosity. She minced no words and demanded clarity of speech from others, as she did of herself. She was a lover of all the arts, especially the visual ones of painting, architecture, and interior design. Of the latter, she was a master practitioner, as evidenced by her own home. Above all, she loved and cherished her family and friends. She is cherished in turn. She said that her only regrets are that she will not see her two grandchildren born, her son Nick marry, and that she will leave many people who love her suffer her loss.

We will sorely miss Julie's fiery temperament and quick mind; her wry humor and love of life that inspired us all.

May her memory be as a blessing.

Services on Sunday, April 28, 2013 at Stanetsky Memorial Chapel, 1668 Beacon Street, Brookline at 11:00 am. Following interment, family and friends are invited to return to her late residence for a memorial observance which will continue through Monday evening. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Hospice of the North Shore, www.hns.org.