William Paul Klein, Jr. (Bill) went to be with his Lord Jesus Christ on February 23, 2017 at the age of 89. He died at his home in Helena, where he had lived for 37 years.
He was preceded in death by his father, William Paul Klein DDS, his mother, Mildred Job Klein and his brother, John Charles Frederick Klein. Bill is survived by a brother, Richard Theodore Klein and wife, Anne, of Frisco, Texas and a sister, Nancy Klein Custis and husband, Dwight, of Southlake, Texas, as well as nieces, Courtney Yartz and Lara Durrell of California, Sonja Haas and Tanya Stein of Colorado and nephews Rick Klein of Texas, Bill Klein of California and David Klein of New Jersey, along with eleven great nephews and nieces.
Bill was born in 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, where he was at Eagle Scout and earned high honors in high school. He served two years in the United States Army Air Force, where he was promoted to Sergeant. His army duty took him to Alaska and the Yukon. In 1952, Bill graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado as a mining engineer and as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves.
He worked as a mining engineer in Butte, Montana and Fairbanks, Alaska. After several near-fatal mining accidents in Butte, he changed his career to civil engineering and became a registered civil engineer in Washington, California and Montana, as well as a registered land surveyor in California and Montana.
In 1957, he worked on the Oroville Dam project near Oroville, California. Later he joined the U.S. Forest Service, where he designed and supervised the construction of roads and bridges. Finally, he became the district engineer for the Bureau of Land Management, designing the construction of dams, roads, campgrounds and even some ghost town reconstructions. He retired from the Bureau of Land Management in 1979.
After moving to Helena, he returned to mining engineering, working many lode and placer mining claims in California, Montana and the Yukon. The 1983 sale of a tungsten mine provided support for the rest of his days.
In addition to working his claims, Bill loved to write, read avidly, studied history and the Bible, collected rare coins, traveled widely throughout the United States, Europe, South America and the Caribbean, spoke several languages and was an excellent piano player. But his passion was for the Gospel, having trusted Christ as his Savior at the age of 11, and he handed out close to a million tracts as his ministry. He played the piano at a local nursing home, and dearly loved and was an active part of the congregation of First Baptist Church of Montana, Helena.
At his request, there will be no service. Please visit below to offer the family a condolence or to share a memory of Bill.
Service Schedule
Services are pending at this time or no services will be held. If available, please see obituary for more information.
Service Schedule
Services are pending at this time or no services will be held. If available, please see obituary for more information.
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Kirsten Bowers says
Bill was our neighbor in Helena for over fifteen years. We were in awe of the amount of walking Bill did all around Helena. Bill also maintained a beautiful yard with fruit trees, and he fed and cared for the neighborhood cats, bunnies, deer and an occasional skunk. He was a character and we mean that in a good way. We will miss Bill very much as a neighbor and a friend. Our best to Bill’s family,
Kirsten, David, Henry and Hannah Bowers
Paul Drake says
Bill was also our neighbor for 25 years. We enjoyed hearing his piano playing in the summer with the sound emanating from his open windows. His evening concerts were always capped off with a rousing patriotic tune. Bill’s stories of various adventures whether river cruises or trips to his mining claims captured all of our imaginations. He often brought interesting foreign coins to share with our kids and sent postcards from his travels. We remember so much of him during our years next door. He was a really good man and great neighbor.
Paul, Teri, Lisa and Steven Drake
Camille says
Dear family,
I read of the loss of your dear loved one, Mr Klein. It sounds like he lived a wonderfully full life surrounded by many who loved him. He was especially strong to live to the age of 89. We should all be so fortunate in our lives. Please look forward to the time when Mr. Klein will rise again in paradise to continue all the things he loved to do. May the Almighty God grant you comfort, peace and hope at this time.
Amy Pfeifer says
“Billy the Gold Mining Man” was my neighbor for his last 4 years when I moved in next door. He certainly was a character and I miss his routines caring for his lawn, his trips to the mailbox and his hikes to Walmart. Mr. Klein, the Nanking cherries you recently planted are blooming, your yard is green and the cats (and skunk) are doing fine.