Robert "Bob" Eugene Klein

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Elmer Klein and Meta Ida Lindemann, daughter Kimberley Renée Klein, sisters Betty Joyce Riecke and Beverly Joann Klein, and brother Donald Lee Klein. He is survived by his wife Norma Klein; daughters Kristen (Mike) McGraw, Karen (Jerry) Kokesh; grandchildren Madison Elise McGraw, Klein Alexander McGraw, and Krista Meyer; great grandchildren Hugh and Clara Meyer; nieces Carla Faye Klein and Gayla Sue Klein, as well as other nieces and nephews.

A small graveside service will be held at Smithton Cemetery at a later date.

A Tribute to Bob’s Life:

From a young age, Bob was capable, independent, and self-sufficient; he was a hard worker who learned at an early age to take care of himself and help take care of others. He grew up on various farms around Sedalia and Smithton, Missouri, where he developed the strong work ethic and resourcefulness that would define his life. He was outgoing, friendly and never met a stranger; he could talk and talk and talk. He quickly learned how to confront and handle any situation.

When Bob was just four years old, he decided to pedal his tricycle to the local grocery store, ordered some ice cream, and told the store clerk to “Charge it to doc Titsworth,” just like his Aunt Clara had done when purchasing supplies, as she worked for the doctor. He thought that was perfectly fine. It’s a story we’ve fondly remembered and retold over the years, because even then, he had the cleverness to come up with the idea, though he didn’t quite understand that’s not how things worked. Bob attended the "Little Red Schoolhouse" (aka McVey schoolhouse) on Hwy 65 in Sedalia as a youngster in the early 1930’s. It was a one-room schoolhouse built in 1886 and is now a museum of the Pettis County Historical Society.

At the age of seven, Bob was given the task of driving a four-hitch team of mules to harrow the fields for crop planting—marking the beginning of his work life on the farm. Just three weeks after his 11th birthday, he lost his mother to an early death. During that time, in addition to his farm chores, he took on housework and helped care for his three younger siblings.

Bob had completed chores helping his mother, such as chopping and hauling wood and fetching water from the pump. He often wondered if only he had helped her more, would that have saved her life—a quiet question that stayed with him.

His Aunt Alice shared a story from shortly after his mother’s passing. When they visited the family, she heard clinking and clanking coming from the kitchen. Soon after, ‘Bobby’ proudly announced, “Time to eat!”—he had prepared fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and green beans. Bob never rested; he was always working to earn money. He trapped rabbits, picked strawberries, milked cows, and took on any other jobs folks in the community needed.

After finishing school in Sedalia, Bob worked for Montgomery Ward and Burkholder appliance stores until he was drafted into the Army on June 21, 1955. He served during the Korean War and remained in service until March 23, 1957. In his unit, those with last names A–K were sent to Germany, while those L–Z went to Korea—so Bob went to Germany. He considered himself fortunate to have been assigned to Germany, where he endured cold winters in a pup tent but also had the opportunity to travel to places like Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, and other European sites and cities while on leave. True to his nature, he made the best of every situation. Bob always found a way to make lemonade out of lemons, no matter the circumstance. After his discharge from the military, Bob began working for Bendix Aviation Corporation, later known as Honeywell, in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked as the tool room supervisor. He always knew where everything was and kept the space meticulously organized. As he approached retirement age, Bob decided to retire in 1991 when Honeywell chose to computerize his job—a change that didn’t align with his style of managing the tool room.

In the fall of 1954, Bob met Norma. They began dating and instantly knew they had met their lifetime partner in each other. Norma attended college and waited for Bob until his return from the army. On December 7, 1957, Bob married Norma Jeanne Aeschbacher in a small ceremony at her parents’ home in Dresden, Missouri. They lived in Kansas City, Missouri for five years before moving to Kansas, where they made their home in Prairie Village and later in Overland Park for 36 years. In 1998, they built a new home in Sedalia, Missouri and returned to live there for 17 years before settling in their final home in Leawood, Kansas.

Bob never left any project unfinished. Whatever he did it was done quickly and done well. He built and finished two lake houses, constructed rock walls and sea walls at the lake, poured concrete patios, laid bricks, handled wiring and plumbing, serviced and repaired cars, overhauled a Mercury outboard engine, and even crafted a hoist for the Wetbike. He also built two tire swings, one at home and one at the lake, and a treehouse, much to his daughter’s delight. This old farm boy could engineer, build or fix just about anything! Once, when a wheel came off the trailer he was towing and rolled down the road, Bob retrieved it, found some wire lying nearby, and repaired it well enough to drive to a garage a few miles away. In another moment, when his granddaughter Madison’s toy broke, she simply said, “Oh, that’s OK—Grandpa can fix it!” No situation ever seemed to faze him or get the best of him.

Bob was always willing to lend a helping hand—not only to family but also friends and neighbors. He was known as the go to person when someone needed help or ideas (or a tool—he had them all, often in multiples!). Norma recalled one winter night when their daughter Kim’s car wouldn’t start; Bob worked on the car into the night, lying on the cold, snowy and icy driveway to fix it; he was always available to help. When a next-door neighbor needed a wheelchair ramp, Bob gathered the supplies and built it himself, allowing the neighbor to safely enter his home….he hung their Christmas lights and helped them anytime help was needed. He assisted in saving a drowning child, aided a couple whose car had flipped and drove them to the town doctor in Versailles, rescued a couple whose boat was sinking late one night at the lake, and helped a few elderly neighbors who had fallen, whether inside or outside their homes. These are just a few of the many moments when Bob selflessly went out of his way to help others in times of need.

Bob had a lifelong interest in cars and engines. At age 15, he bought his first car with money he earned milking cows for a neighbor who owned a dairy farm. He completely overhauled the engine, sold the car for a profit, and bought a better one to fix up—and that cycle continued throughout his life. He was a classic Mustang enthusiast, owning several 1964–1966 Mustangs over the years, including six convertibles and a hardtop. Attending car shows and swap meets was one of his favorite hobbies. Bob always kept his cars in perfect condition, both mechanically and in appearance. Even at 96 years old, Bob was still waxing his Toyota Avalon, a section at a time, to keep it looking like new.

Bob had a great interest in photography and cameras, even joining a hobby photography club. In the days of film, he always had a good camera with various lenses and attachments, along with a Polaroid that brought instant gratification as the images developed before your eyes. Over the years, he took thousands of pictures, filling storage tubs with photographs of the moments and places he captured and the people he loved.

Bob had a green thumb, which he passed on to his daughter, Kris. He enjoyed gardening and growing things—and he was good at it. Over the years, he planted vegetable gardens, ornamental and fruit trees, grapes, black raspberries, rhubarb, and beautiful flowers like peonies, irises, and hydrangeas. He grew tomatoes every year, including during his last summer on earth. Those tomato plants gave him not only tomatoes, but also the joy and satisfaction that came with seeing them grow. Some fairly recent plantings that he still tended to included peonies, mandevilla, and a beautiful, impressive magnolia tree—each one a reflection of his love for growing things and the joy he found in nurturing them.

Everything related to the Lake of the Ozarks played a large role in Bob’s life. He told stories of fishing off a pier in Gravois Mills, Missouri with his father as young boy in the 1930’s when the lake was new. He built a small lake house in 1963 and then decided to build a larger lake home in 1971. He enjoyed leaving the city most weekends and vacation days, living the lake life. He always had a boat, starting small progressing to larger ones. He liked all watersports: boating, water skiing, swimming, Wetbiking, and sailing a small Sea Snark sailboat. Fishing was a big part of his lake life; teaching his daughters and grandkids the art of casting, changing lures, using minnows and bobbers, taking the fish off the hook, and patience, but the cleaning of fish was always left to him. After Christmas, he would haul the Christmas (cedar) tree to the lake so that he could make crappie beds off the dock by submerging the tree; it lead to good crappie fishing but also snags where we’d have to use a sparkplug to unsnag the lure. The Harvest Moon was always a special part of lake life. Bob would anticipate its rising each fall, sitting on the patio and waiting for it to appear over the Ozark hills. Its bright moonlight seemed to shine directly across the water right to our dock. Some years it was enormous —like a big, bright, orange ball; it was spectacular!

Bob was an avid hunter and looked forward to his yearly trips to western Kansas with his hunting buddies to hunt pheasant and quail. He also enjoyed hunting with his cousin, Leonard Frank Klein, on Leonard’s farm. Bob was an excellent marksman, classified as a sharpshooter by the Army. He passed on his knowledge by teaching his daughters how to shoot, a skill he took pride in sharing.

Bob enjoyed traveling and visited many of the 50 states. He also took memorable trips to Europe and went on cruises to the Caribbean, Alaska, and Hawaii. One of his favorite destinations was the Biltmore, where he shared special moments with his family—including horseback riding with his granddaughter, Madison. On a trip to Switzerland, Bob returned home to the joyful news of a new grandson named Klein, his namesake. Klein is an “old soul,” much like his grandpa, with the same positive, curious, and extroverted personality that Bob was known and loved for.

Bob was a loving, kind and dependable husband, father and grandpa. He loved his family and was proud of them and their accomplishments. He would do anything he could possibly do for them. HE AWALYS GAVE OF HIMSELF—selflessly, generously, and without hesitation—whether through his time, his knowledge, or his quiet acts of kindness. He taught his daughters to live adventurously, be self-sufficient, maintain a positive can-do attitude, fix things, and even be knowledgeable about cars! Kris remembers her dad hiding gum, highlighters, and quarters inside items he’d bring her while she was at KU: small gestures that always let you know he was thinking of you. Bob also had a habit of sneaking tools into his son-in-law’s toolbox, quietly adding to the collection and making old tools look like new. He cherished spending time with his grandchildren: helping them fly kites, taking them for rides on the tractor mower, going to the Missouri State Fair, fishing at the lake in his Tracker boat and watching him clean fish, riding bikes through the neighborhood, setting up a small train ride in the basement, getting hot cakes from McDonald’s, showing off bugs and creatures he had caught and placed in jars, watching him fix things, and making bacon-wrapped steaks for dinner.

In 2014, Bob experienced one of life’s deepest sorrows—the loss of his daughter Kim to cancer. Bob was deeply affected by her death. The young girl he had loved and nurtured into adulthood was taken from him far too soon. Her passing at 55 years of age deeply saddened him. The reversal of the natural order, losing a child before a parent, was a profound sorrow he carried and it weighed heavily on his heart.

For 96½ of his 97 years, Bob lived a full, active, self-sufficient, and healthy life—he was even still driving as of last November. He remained friendly and cheerful to the end, greeting everyone with a smile and sometimes a big, hands-in-the-air “Hi!”. We will miss his ever-present smile, good-natured personality, and boundless energy.

Having lived to age 97, Bob outlived many of his relatives and close friends, they are no longer here to share memories or reflect on fond moments with him. So we’ve attempted to capture his spirit and personality in these words as a tribute— offering those still living a glimpse into the life of a truly wonderful and compassionate human being. No one can ever take his place in our hearts or minds. When Bob departed this earth, the human race lost a truly good person—someone who cared deeply and looked out for family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers alike.

Bob was part of a generation that grew up with few resources and witnessed extraordinary change—from rural farm life and hard times to a world of modern conveniences and technology. Through it all, he adapted, always maintaining his strong work ethic, self-sufficiency, and appreciation for the things that truly mattered. His hands-on knowledge, resilience, and wisdom is becoming increasingly rare. People like Bob, who could build, fix, and figure out just about anything, leave behind a legacy that’s hard to replace—and deeply missed.

In conclusion, it was fitting that Bob died during the full Harvest Moon. The harvest moon symbolizes abundance, gratitude, and completion, reflecting the time when farmers gathered crops with the help of the moon's bright, early light. Spiritually, it is a time for reflection, transformation, and new beginnings. His spirit and body have found peace, free from suffering. We find comfort knowing he is now embraced by a new beginning filled with grace and eternal love. The Harvest Moon will always be a symbol of his life, his love and his legacy. Like that luminous Harvest Moon, he shines on in the lives he touched, the love he gave, and the memories he left behind. We love you and miss you Bob, Dad, Grandpa.