Mary E. Klein liked to look after people.
In her teens, she earned money caring for children, one of whom became a famous physicist.
The longtime Wheaton resident also volunteered at church and in her children’s school and supported volunteer firefighters, which included her husband, through the local auxiliary.
And for more than four decades, Mrs. Klein forged friendships with customers at her family’s hardware store in downtown Wheaton.
“Dad handled the register and mom did all the bookkeeping,” said her son, Jerry. “She sat at her perch, a desk in a loft area at the back of the store, where she had a bird’s-eye view of the whole store.”
Mrs. Klein, 99, the former co-owner of Wheaton Hardware Store, died Monday, May 19, in her home, following a series of strokes.
Born in Jefferson City, Mo., Mrs. Klein was raised by her mother after her parents separated when she was young.
She helped support the family after moving to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, by baby-sitting neighborhood children, including a quiet but bright boy, James Van Allen. He grew up to be a physicist who helped create detectors leading to the discovery of two belts of radiation outside the earth’s atmosphere, known as the Van Allen radiation belts.
“She knew he was smart and would make something of himself one day,” her son said.
Mrs. Klein married Bernard Klein in 1930. The couple settled in Wheaton, where they raised three children. They had been married 50 years when he died in 1980.
In 1934, Mrs. Klein and her husband, along with a partner, opened Wheaton Hardware on Hale Street. While short on space, the store was known for customer service and the ability to duplicate nearly any type of key in minutes.
“Our store would have probably fit in a corner of one of those big mega-hardware stores we have today,” her son said. “But we had a lock on the key business in town.”
As bookkeeper, unusual hours were the norm for Mrs. Klein, family members said.
“She’d be there some nights until 11 o’clock or midnight, making sure the books were all balanced,” said her son, who began working in the store at age 8. “It was never about making a profit. Both she and my dad just wanted enough to get by.”
The couple sold the store in 1975 to a father and son who ran the business for several more years, family members said.
In retirement, Mrs. Klein devoted herself to her family and many charitable causes, including The Catholic Daughters of St. Michael Church in Wheaton, where she was a member for 64 years.
“That’s just the way Mary was,” said longtime friend Eileen Cashin. “It was her nature to watch over people and make sure things went as they should.”
Other survivors include two daughters, Joanne and Mary Ann Wesner; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Services have been held.
