Obituary of Barbara Klein

Barbara Hoffman Klein died peacefully on Saturday, December 16th, 2017 in her Glacier Hills apartment in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

Barbara was born on April 16th, 1932 in Everett, Massachusetts. She was the middle child of Sophie and Benjamin Hoffman, and sister to Sylvia Burman and Arnold Hoffman. She moved with her family to Syracuse, New York when she was 15, and graduated from high school in Syracuse. Once enrolled at Syracuse University, her family moved to Philadelphia. She met Victor when she accepted a ride back to Syracuse from Philadelphia in September of 1950, and they married in March of 1951. They eventually settled in the Philadelphia area, where her two children, Steve and Randi, were born.

 

Years later, Barbara decided to return to college. She received a Bachelors Degree in Education from Beaver College in the early 1970s. In 1974, Barbara and Victor moved to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Barbara began studying Library Science at the University of Michigan. She received her Masters of Library Science degree in 1976. Barbara combined her love of books, stories, and children by working as a children's librarian and storyteller, both during her Michigan years, and later when she and Victor moved to Newport Beach, California.

 

In Philadelphia, Michigan and California, Barbara created an active social life, making new friends and maintaining connections with friends from her past. She loved to entertain and cook and her sense of style was apparent in her home, while she entertained, and in how she dressed.

 

Barbara actively participated in synagogue life at Keneseth Israel in
Philadelphia, at Kol Ami in Michigan, and at University Synagogue in
California.

 

Both Barbara and Victor were engaged in the art world everywhere they lived. Together they developed a collection of contemporary California art in their home in Newport Beach. They sponsored many exhibitions at the Orange County Museum of Art, where Barbara was a docent and board member.

 

Barbara was an avid reader and loved to share and receive suggestions for good books. She was a dedicated book group and short story group participant.

 

Barbara was loved by her family and respected by friends in the communities where she lived.  Her style, warmth, interest in others, dedication, and perseverance will be missed by her brother Arnold, sister-in-law Bette, son Steve, daughter-in-law Shira, daughter Randi, son-in-law Paul, grandchildren Ariella, Ian, Etan, Krin, Jessica, John, and Rebecca, and great-grandchildren Yoav, Mia, Dawson, and Jordyn, as well as many nieces and nephews.

 

Burial was held privately, in Newport Beach, California, followed by a service at University Synagogue on, December 20th, 2017.

 

To honor Barbara's love of books, literacy, and learning, her family requests that memorial donations be made to a library of one's choice.