Erna L. Kleine

Beloved wife of the late Willor Kleine; loving mother of Pam (Tony) Sokolic and Rodney Kleine; dear grandmother of Anton and Lidiya Sokolic; dear sister of Clara Weber, and the late Rudolph (Wilma) Bodenschatz and Leonard Bodenschatz; dear sister-in-law of Jane Bodenschatz; our dear cousin, aunt, and friend to many.

From Pam...

Erna Kleine, a wife, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, neighbor, friend. A Christian, believer in Christ and when your time is up, you will meet your maker.

She was our only babysitter and day care. Summers we played outdoors from sun up to sun down, however we had to read books for at least 30 minutes after lunch before we would go swimming in our little two foot high galvanized pool, 2:00 we were outside because General Hospital was on. Once a summer we would go to the zoo with her sister Aunt Clara and our cousin Debbie. Before we left the zoo we would get an ice cream cone.

Mom was the room mother for both Rodney and I, and attended, sometimes headed the classroom parties. She was my scout leader, softball coach, even though she had no idea about either things. She was our first uber driver, and never complained about making an extra stop to drop someone off. She was our chef, dinner on the table by 4:00. She was our personal baker at Christmas time: making anise cookies for my dad, Spritz cookies for me and M&M cookies for Rodney, along with other recipes she found in the newspaper or magazine.

She was my seamstress, from swimsuits and pajamas, to Confirmation dress and pink fuzzy winter coat. It was easier to count the number of clothes store bought, with tags, than ones handmade. She crocheted, knitted some, embroidered, cross stitched and took craft classes here and there to learn some new skills. She always said she couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler, but she could make you a stocking hat, with fuzzy ball and scarves to match in a short period of time.

Mom was our traveling guide before GPS. She would give directions as dad would drive. When mom drove it was usually on the highway where a map was not needed and dad could nap. She would always look for a hotel with a pool, and after unloading the car, she would take us to the pool and leave dad to take a nap or watch TV.

She made sure our homework was done and was the spelling word nag. Over and over we would practice our spelling words, or state capitals or multiplication tables. As much as I hated the nagging and the beating the information into my head, I appreciate it now.

Mom went to all of our sporting games-softball and bowling, parent teacher conferences, PTA meetings. She was my brothers plus one for dinners and lodge picnics. She was a regular with the Missouri Child Identification Program (MoCHIP) team, sitting at the front table greeting people and getting them started on the paperwork. Rarely did she ever turn us down.

She loved my kids and hearing them banter, and about their classes and school activities. My kids loved to hear about going to school in a one room schoolhouse, where the minister was the teacher. If there was a funeral they got out of school early, only to go home and put on their Sunday best, to return to church for the funeral. She would talk about being a farmers daughter, plowing the fields, butchering the cows or pigs and collecting the chicken eggs. My mom spoke German at school and at home till she went to live with a family in Jackson to attend high school. She moved to St. Louis soon after graduating and got her drivers license. She worked as a church secretary in Gaslight Square. Often she would tell stories of friends she met at Walter League, seminarians that came through the church, or roommates she had.

I could go on and on about the things my mom did in her 94 years. She had a wonderful life, family was important to her. She kept true to her Christian believes and lived her life to the fullest. Love you mom, see you someday soon.

SERVICES: A graveside service is being planned and will be announced when available.

Memorial contributions in Erna's honor are suggested to Pathways Hospice or American Cancer Society.