Raleigh Klein

1949 - 2021

Raleigh W Klein
1949-2021
Raleigh Klein was born in San Francisco, CA. He passed away in Davis, CA, from pancreatic cancer. He was 72 years old at the time of his passing.

There are two red letter days in Raleigh's life. The first took place in April 1982, when he married his bride of 39 years, Nan. The second took place in December 1988, when their son, Jim, was born.

Raleigh lived almost his entire life in the Bay Area, growing up in Palo Alto, where he attended Palo Alto High School (go Vikings). He attended UCLA (go Bruins), where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Political Science/ International Relations. Raleigh is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He spent his junior year abroad at the University of Birmingham, England. While there, he became a fan of English football, and has continued to support his local team, West Bromwich Albion (go Baggies).

Raleigh returned to the Bay to attend business school. He graduated with an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (go Cardinal).

After five years as a CPA, Raleigh entered the equipment leasing industry, where he remained for the rest of his professional career. He retired from Bank of America Leasing & Capital Group well before the 2008 meltdown. During his time in the equipment leasing industry, Raleigh held various treasurer and CFO positions, before turning to the marketing side. During his banking career, Raleigh negotiated numerous complex financial transactions involving railcars, airplanes, satellites, power plants, and the like. His final financial position was as managing director of a worldwide group of quantitative analysts responsible for structuring transactions.

Raleigh and Nan lived most of their married life in Alameda, an island city in San Francisco Bay. Through their son, they became involved in typical events which deepened their ties to the community, including youth soccer, Little League, High School and summer baseball, parents' association events, and the like.

After retirement, Raleigh participated as much as possible in charity work in the Bay Area as part of the Stanford Business School Alumni Consulting Team (ACT) program. Through this program, as a member of a series of teams, Raleigh provided free consulting services to local non-profits in the arts, the environment, family services, health, and education.

Raleigh and Nan moved to Davis, near Sacramento, in 2016. They wanted to escape the ever-increasing traffic, while continuing to live in a community which valued education and diversity. Davis fit the bill nicely.

Raleigh started taking OLLI classes through UC Davis Extension. He particularly enjoyed discussion classes on Atlantic, New Yorker, and scientific topics. Despite having taken several classes in the subject, Raleigh continued to be mystified by quantum mechanics, through no fault of the instructor.

Raleigh also became a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Davis, the largest such lodge in North America. Through the Odd Fellows, Raleigh was able to take part in events which benefited the community while also having a very good time with his fellow members. Raleigh was awarded the Member of the Year award in 2019.

Raleigh was an avid fan of local sports teams in the Bay Area. Thanks to his dad's work with KCBS Radio – including being the voice of Stanford sports and then the 49ers – Raleigh was able to attend numerous special events, including a Final Four, three World Series, two Super Bowls, and the NBA finals (go Giants, go A's, go Niners, go Warriors). Beginning at age 11, Raleigh began to keep stats for his dad's broadcasts. Working together until his dad's retirement led to a great many pleasant experiences.

While at the University of Birmingham, Raleigh traveled throughout England as much as possible, and then throughout Europe for breaks and the summer. The travel bug never left Raleigh. Raleigh and Nan were able to travel to various special spots, including the Galapagos, Australia for a total eclipse, and Germany to visit with relatives in Berlin and near Frankfurt.

Raleigh and Nan also took an annual baseball trip after they retired, seeing the country through various major league, spring training and minor league ballparks.

Raleigh is survived by his wife (Nan), his son (Jim), his sister (Karen Brown), and various cousins, nephews, and nieces. Raleigh was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Jeanne Klein, and by his brother, Gary.

A celebration of Raleigh's life will take place at the Odd Fellows Hall in downtown Davis, when pandemic circumstances permit. His remains are being scattered around San Francisco Bay. A remembrance page has been set up at ForeverMissed.com to share your memories. The address is: raleigh-w-klein.forevermissed.com This page will also be the place where you will find information regarding the Celebration of Life, when it has been scheduled. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to one of the following favorite ACT clients of Raleigh – Seacology (seacology.org), or Mission Neighborhood Health Center (mnhc.org), or to another worthy organization focused on the environment, health services for the underserved, or education.