Rebecca Sue Klein

Rebecca Sue Klein, a passionate environmentalist, fly angler, and advocate for recovering addicts, died peacefully at home on January 21, 2025, at age 42, after a long, valiant battle with breast cancer. In the final weeks, she was surrounded by her many devoted family members and friends who kept vigil at her bedside.

Becca’s creativity and love for life made her an inspiration and beacon of light for all who had the good fortune to know her. She loved the cool water of the Chattahoochee River, the music of The Allman Brothers Band and The Grateful Dead, sharing her infectious laugh with friends, the comfort provided by her service dog Gunner, and the stillness and peace that a fly rod provided when nestled in her hand.

She was a beloved daughter who would make a road trip to be with her parents in Florida at a moment’s notice, a talented writer who authored many articles with passion and ease, a caring friend with a penchant for adventure, and a fierce advocate of preserving the natural world.

Becca served more than 15 years on the staff of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, where she worked tirelessly to protect the purity of the watershed that stretches from north Georgia to the Florida line. In 2019, she spearheaded what was to become the Becca Sue Klein All Kids Fish program, which teaches young people the art of fly fishing. During these events, Becca could be found flipping over rocks looking for bugs with a child or netting a young participant’s first rainbow trout with a hoot and a loud holler.

Her personal journey to sobriety led her to find healing in fly fishing, and in 2019, she co-founded an organization to help those battling substance abuse disorder embrace nature and the spiritual connection to fly fishing as a path to recovery. Two years later, it became the nonprofit Reeling in Serenity.

Becca was a proud member of Georgia Women Fly Fishers as well as a multitude of other fly-fishing groups. She graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC with a degree in communications and maintained a love for writing throughout her life. In the past few years, she was an associate editor for DUN magazine and a contributing writer to several fly-fishing publications.

Becca was fond of the saying, “Friends are the family you choose,” and as such, she surrounded herself with dozens of friends who reveled in her energy, passion, and love. For all the people who supported Becca following her cancer diagnoses in 2015 and 2017 and during her final years with metastatic breast cancer, her family is grateful.

Becca is survived by her loving parents Jennifer and Jon Klein, service dog Gunner, brother Jared Lippelgoos, aunt Ilene Klein and uncle Christian Heckscher, great aunt Barbara Tschannen, many cousins, and countless friends from all phases of her life.

A celebration of life to honor Becca will be held Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Helendorf River Run, 33 Munich Strasse, Helen Georgia, 30545.

In lieu of flowers, her family invites you to contribute to the Becca Sue Klein All Kids Fish program, Reeling in Serenity, iFishiBelong, or Georgia Women Fly Fishers.