Douglas A Kline

Doug was born on March 29, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois to Jack Edward Kline and Dorothy Taylor Kline. At an early age, the family moved to La Grange Park, IL, a suburb of Chicago, where he enjoyed playing ice hockey in the creeks around their home and being a rare left-handed player in the local Little League. He graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1961 where he was a member of the National Honor Society, the sports editor of the school newspaper and co-captain of the tennis team.

Doug received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, majoring in political science and history. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma social fraternity. Doug continued his studies at Northwestern’s Graduate Business School, later the Kellogg School of Business, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. In addition to earning his degrees at Northwestern, Doug developed what would become a lifelong love of, and ever-optimistic outlook about, Northwestern Wildcats football.

In September 1967, Doug married Jane Ann in Western Springs, Illinois. She was the love of his life and he hers. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary last year.

Soon after they were married, Jane and Doug moved to Tulsa, OK where he began a 38-year business career in the petroleum industry, starting at the Sunray DX Oil Company.

After Sunray DX was acquired by Sun Oil Company in 1970, Doug and his family relocated to Sun's headquarters in the Delaware Valley, first living in New Jersey, then in the Main Line of Philadelphia. Doug and Jane raised their daughter, Amy, and their son, Bill, in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. As a family, they enjoyed spending time at their cottage swimming and boating at Lake Wallenpaupack and skiing in the Pocono mountains.

While at Sun Oil, Doug was proud to attend the 16-week Program for Management Development at the Harvard University Graduate Business School. While there, a fellow student taught him the game of squash and Doug became an avid and accomplished squash racquets player.

Doug held several positions at Sun Oil, eventually becoming the Director of Insurance, a position that would change the course of his career and life. There, he had the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of two Bermuda-based petroleum industry mutual insurance companies, Oil Insurance Limited (OIL), a catastrophe insurer to the oil industry, and Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd. (OCIL), an excess liability and directors’ and officers’ insurer. He also served as Chairman of the Risk Management and Insurance Committee for the American Petroleum Institute, headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Shortly after his 50th birthday and following many years of service on the board of OIL, Doug was offered a job as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of OIL, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Amy and Bill were away at college, so Doug and Jane moved to Bermuda. They lived there for 13 years. During their time in Bermuda, Doug and Jane had homes in Flatts Village and Bailey’s Bay. They were members of The Mid Ocean Club where Doug enjoyed golfing. He was known for the speed at which he could finish a round, and derived particular joy from getting the first tee time of the day on Saturdays so he could set the pace. He loved riding his motor bike to work and wearing formal Bermudian business attire – shorts and knee-high socks. Doug also continued his squash career in Bermuda, serving as Secretary of the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association, and in 1997, winning the Bermuda national squash racquets doubles championship. He said that the key to winning a national title was to outlive everyone else, or to move to a very small country.

Doug’s association with OIL provided him and Jane with the opportunity to travel extensively. They developed a great love for seeing the world and experiencing different cultures. They skied in the Alps and SCUBA dove in the Red Sea. After Doug retired, he and Jane traveled the globe. They visited more than 100 countries. Their favorites included Bhutan, Kazakhstan and Myanmar. They sailed around the world five times as part of several multi-month world cruises. As shared by Jane, we had a life together I never could have imagined. He never promised to show me the world, but he certainly did.

Doug retired in 2005, and he and Jane repatriated to the United States in 2006. Not coincidentally, Doug’s first grandchild was also born in 2006. Doug’s four grandsons were the joys of his life. He enjoyed having them over for sleepovers, talking to them about school, watching the Eagles, and Phillies, asking them “what social media was saying” about the teams, and generally watching their antics as they grew. Above all else, Doug loved his family.

Doug is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jane; his daughter Amy, her husband Steven, and their sons Thomas and James; his son William, his wife Amy and their sons Nathaniel and Andrew. Doug is also survived by his younger brother, Laurence James Kline, who currently resides with his wife, Cynthia, in Indianhead Park, Illinois.

Friends are invited to join his family at a memorial service on January 27, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 763 South Valley Forge Road, Wayne, PA 19087. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Devon 50 BSA and St. David’s Episcopal Church in his honor.