Erma Rose Klepzig

KLEPZIG Erma Rose (nee Bierbaum) 70, of Lemay, on Monday, September 2, 2013. Loving wife, partner and best friend for 45 years of Kenneth Klepzig; beloved mother of Kenna (Ray) Stock, LeAndra (Clarence) Vogelzang, Regena (Matt) Dearing, Timothy (Tracy) Klepzig, Shaundra (Tommy) Stapleton and Thomas (Elizabeth) Klepzig; beloved grandmother of Marissa (David) Stock-Guss, Vera (Bharath) Stock-Parthasarathy, Brandon (Alicia) Stock, Krysten (Matthew) Little, Ryan (Kimberly) Vogelzang, Julie (Mario) Perez, Kyle Vogelzang, Andrew Mathias, Jeremy Dearing, Beth Dearing, Natalie Dearing, J.R. (Angelina) Robbins, Dakota Klepzig, Dylan Stapleton, Caelyn Klepzig, and Cameryn Klepzig; beloved great-grandmother of Cooper Guss, Kensley Guss, Quinn Guss, Devon Parthasarathy, Lila Parthasarathy, Liam Vogelzang, Luke Vogelzang and Lilliana Robbins; dear daughter to the late Kermit and Margaret (Archer) Bierbaum, dear sister to the late Bess (Bierbaum) Grove, dear daughter-in-law to Esther (Ballinger) Klepzig, dear sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, employer and friend to many.

Erma graduated from Mehlville Senior High School in 1961. After graduation, Erma worked as a Legal Secretary for several attorneys in Clayton, MO. In 1968, Erma fell in love with and married a widower, Ken Klepzig. Ken’s three daughters were adopted by Erma shortly after their marriage. Ken and Erma had three additional children, two sons and one daughter. Erma had an unwavering faith in God. When asked how she remained faithful through her life, she simply replied, “One day at a time.” As co-owner of The Donut Stop on Lemay Ferry Road in Lemay, MO, Erma worked beside her husband, Ken, and her son, Tom, for more than 15 years. Erma was a very kind and gentle soul; she had a loving and generous heart, and was always giving to others. Erma was known for her love of chatting on the phone with her family and friends and her deep love of all animals, especially her cat Bree. Erma always had a twinkle in her eye, a smile that was infectious and her laugh was contagious to all who were around her. Erma loved tapping her toes or hands to any tune with beat. Erma adored and was adored by her husband, 6 children, 16 grandchildren and her 9 great-grandchildren. As most of Erma’s family and friends knew, Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday where she enjoyed having her family to their home for many, many years to celebrate and give thanks on this day. Despite her two year battle with uterine cancer, Erma learned to use Facebook at the age of 68 and how to text from her new smart phone at the age of 69. Erma loved to chauffeur her husband, Ken, around town while he served as her co-pilot. Erma loved extremely large purses that held anything from a wrench to a pair of tweezers. For most of her life, Erma was “green” before it was cool as she didn’t see the need to traditionally wrap a birthday present when the K-Mart store bag served the same purpose. She was the Matriarch of our family and we will miss her forever and until the end of time.

SERVICES: Visitation 2-8 p.m. Friday, September 6, 2013, at Hoffmeister South County Chapel, 1515 Lemay Ferry Rd., Lemay, MO. Funeral Service, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, September 7, 2013 at St. Martin of Tours Church, 610 W Ripa Ave., St. Louis, MO. Interment, Lakewood Park Cemetery. In memory of Erma contributions are encouraged to AmHeart Hospice, 2388 Schuetz Rd., St Louis, MO 63146 or the charity of the donor’s choice.