Born February 1, 1923, Annette Vreeland Kleeblatt, of 193 New York Ave., Dumont, N.J., died at the age of 95 on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. She lived an extraordinary life having survived the Holocaust as a young woman from Amsterdam, Holland. It is in a concentration camp in Holland where she met Walter Kleeblatt, whom she would marry and with whom she would raise two children, Robert Kleeblatt, currently of East Hampton, N.Y., and Gary Kleeblatt, currently of Wethersfield CT.
Annette was one of five sisters born to Isaac and Roosje Vreeland. The other girls were Eva, Elly, Jacqueline and Janny. Of the family of seven, only Annette and Janny would survive the camps. Annette and Janny would be very close for the rest of their lives. While Janny would be lost to the family at a young age, her three surviving children, Rosalie Manning, Martin (Mickey) and Jack Franken treated Annette like their own mother. Annette loved them very much, and they her.
Love of family marked Annette’s entire existence. Her oldest son, Robert, would marry Lauren Zucker, who also treated Annette as she would her own parents – with love and devotion. Robert and Lauren raised two children, Ian and Alison. Ian and his wife Michele are raising two sons – Shane and Rowan. Alison and her husband Brad are raising three children, daughters Jadyn and Brooke and their son Ethan. Gary is also raising two children, Devon and Zoe, and Annette loved them very much and relished their visits.
As is so often the case, the mother is the glue of the family. Annette played that part beautifully. She loved to dote on and give to her children and grandchildren. Her family was the center of her being, and she was the center of her family. Her life will continue through the lives of all the children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nephews, niece and their children and grandchildren. Annette’s was an extraordinary life and one well lived.
Donations may be made to the Walter and Annette Kleeblatt Scholarship for Jewish Studies at Penn State, c/o Winne Banta, 21 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ, 07631.
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