Richard Jay Klein

Richard Klein loved his life. He loved his family and he loved his army of friends and his three dogs, Emily, Lucas and Sam. He loved being Jewish and he was a proud gay man. He loved Broadway theater, good books, great TV shows and movies, good delis, Popeye’s Chicken, a good steak, video games, the royal family, Wordle, candy and butter. In fact there are about 6 pounds of Kerrygold Butter in his fridge right this minute.

Richie was raised on the south side of Chicago in Jeffery Manor in an observant Jewish home with two brothers, Lewis and Ronald. Both are deceased and Richie, the youngest, is gone now, too. Richie is survived by his sisters-in-law, Marnie Klein and Marda LeBeau, two nieces, Sarah Klein and Adina Klein as well as great-niece Ro McClory and great-nephew, Beau Krout.

Richie went to Luella Elementary and Bowen High School. Right after graduating from Southern Illinois University in the early 70s, he headed straight for New York City where he became a consummate New Yorker living on the Upper West Side for 42 years. He loved taking long walks in the city. In fact, family members joked about his “New York walking legs” because those legs had muscles!

He saw virtually every show that played in New York. His favorites? “Billy Elliot”, “Carousel" and “Angels in America”. With his strong opinions about every show, he would have been a great theater critic.

Like lots of New Yorkers, he spent much of his summers out of town at his house in Belle Porte, and later in Millerton.

He also travelled extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He went on a photo safari in Tanzania and visited the gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda. He went to Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Tahiti and Israel, as well as many visits to London and Paris. He was scheduled to take a river cruise in France later this year.

He owned a popular gift shop in Brooklyn where his niece, Sarah, would visit to take home tons of penny candy and special t-shirts.

Richie also worked at the Gay Men's Health Crisis. He lived through the worst of the AIDS crisis and nearly died of the disease himself. He never forgot the friends who did lose their lives to AIDS, and gave countless talks about being HIV+. He never forgot what he believed to be governmental failure during the early days of the AIDS crisis.

Richie would have stayed in New York forever, but it got too expensive. Seven years ago, he sold his co-op and moved to Palm Springs. He chose it, in large part, because of the vibrant gay community there. He joined a book club, learned to love hiking in the desert and, Richie the meat lover, became a barbecue master.

But, let’s talk about his family. Richie loved his two nieces, Sarah Klein, Lewis’ daughter and Adina Klein, Ronald’s daughter. Later, he also had two more children to love, Ro, Sarah’s daughter and Beau, Adina’s son. Richie was the first one to get to the hospital when Ro was born, and when Beau came in to the world six months ago. Richie was so sick with cancer, but despite that, he came to Beau’s baby naming here in Chicago; he was determined to be there.

In his final days, his sister-in-law, Marnie Klein, took wonderful care of him. Richie was beloved and all of us went out there to be with him when we could. That included family and many friends, including his former partner, Richard Stack. We all learned a lot from Richie in his final days and we could talk to him about death. He looked forward to joining his parents, Sam and Lillian Klein, and his favorite dog, Sam. He was totally at peace with leaving this world. His family and friends saw his courage, and none of us will ever forget it.