Mary K. Klepper

Decatur

Funeral service for Mary Magdalene King Klepper, 89, will be Monday, December 5, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church with the Rev. Gary Fromby officiating. Burial will be a private service held for family members. Visitation will be two hours prior to the service, beginning at 11:00 a.m. also at Central United Methodist Church.

Mrs. Klepper who died Thursday, December 1, 2011, at Decatur General Hospital, was born September 6, 1922, in York, PA to Elmer Bruce and Sallie Jacobs King. As a young woman, Mary enjoyed boating and waterskiing. Her family moved often with her husband’s job, and she used each new hometown as an exciting opportunity to make new friends. She maintained close friendship with so many through her love of letter writing. Since moving to Decatur in 1990, she has been an active member of Central United Methodist Church, and was involved with the church’s United Methodist Women groups, HUGS Ministry, and Missions, as well as several community Bible studies. An avid Bridge player, she considered the game one of her favorite pastimes and was a member of several Bridge clubs in North Alabama. She also taught Bridge through community education classes. Mary was also actively involved in P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) and the Decatur/Morgan County Senior Center.

Mary held an array of jobs in the many towns she called home. She was a volunteer at the Veteran’s Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN, and a library aide at both Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro and Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, TN. She worked in public relations for First National Bank of Athens, AL, and then went on to sell real estate in King’s Mountain, NC. Here in Decatur, she worked in public relations for both Morningside Assisted Living and Riverside Assisted Living homes.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, George Harding Klepper; brothers, George King and Ralph King; sister, Mildred King Meisenhelder.

Mrs. Klepper is survived by her son, Stephen King Klepper and his wife, Barbara Hogan Klepper, of Decatur; granddaughter, Katherine Klepper Cole and her husband, Carl, of Decatur; great-grandson; Stephen Wynn Cole, of Decatur; sister, Beulah King Morgan, of Jackson Hole, WY.

Pallbearers will be Charles Hough, Carl Cowart, Jerry Thrasher all of Decatur, Charles Wright of Mountainbrook, AL, Stanley Lauderdale and Forrest Bedingfield both of Athens, AL.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Central United Methodist Church, Decatur, AL, Meals-on-Wheels of Decatur, AL and National Alzheimer’s Association.