Obituary of Blanche Klein

Blanche Klein, 101 formerly of the Hills area died Sunday, July 29, 2007, at Bickford Cottage in Iowa City. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, August 2, 2007, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hills with the Reverend Louis Leonhardt officiating. Burial will be at St. Stanislaus Cemetery near Hills. Visitation will be from 3 to 7pm Wednesday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City, and after 9am until services on Thursday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in her memory to any of the following, St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Bickford Cottage, or Amenity Hospice. Online condolences may be sent for her family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. The former Blanche Mary Lacina was born on December 22, 1905, to Frank and Mary (Kearney) Lacina. She graduated from St. Patrick’s High School and the Irish Business College in Iowa City, and was employed at the University of Iowa Hospital until she married Alfred J. Klein on August 18, 1926. Blanche was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hills and was active in the Altar & Rosary Society, the Catholic Daughters of America, and the NAIM club. She was also a long-time member of the Rural Women’s club. After retiring from full-time farming, Blanche became bookkeeper and ran the office of the Sharon Mutual Insurance Association (from her kitchen) while her husband Alf was a Director and Secretary of that company. They retired when the company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1966. Her family includes three sons, Joseph Klein of Perrysburg, OH, Paul Klein and wife, Eileen of Monterey, CA, and Edmund Klein and wife, Beverly of Fallbrook, CA; 7 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; and 2 great great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred “Alf”, and one son, Robert. The family would like to acknowledge the friendship and assistance provided to Blanche in her later years by relatives and friends and by her care-givers at Bickford Cottage and through Amenity Hospice. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Iowa City is caring for Blanche’s family and her services.