VERKLIN - Vivienne Bartholy. Born January 6, 1927 in Pittsburgh, PA; died March 14, 2026 in Ft. Myers, FL. Viv was the rock on which her family was built, and she was a strong influence on those with whom she came in contact due to her warm and caring nature and her practical and ethical approach to life. Family was most important to her, and hers included her husband Bob of 76 years, her four children, ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and her mother Margaret Bartholy. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Viv attended Wilkinsburg High School, graduating in 1943. Viv enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, majored in biology, was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority, and graduated in 1947. Viv met Robert Verklin at the University of Pittsburgh (where Bob was in dental school) when she asked him out on a blind date to a sorority formal. After she graduated from college and Bob completed dental school and started in private dental practice, they were married on December 8, 1947. In Pittsburgh, Viv and Bob lived in Churchill Borough and Fox Chapel. Viv and Bob moved to Waco, TX for two years when Bob was called up for active duty in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War (after having served in the U.S. Army during World War II). When Bob retired from his dental practice in 1993, Viv and Bob split their time between Pittsburgh and Ft. Myers, FL for some years and eventually moved permanently to Ft. Myers. (Bob died on December 23, 2023 at 100 1/2 years old.) Viv was proud to be a homemaker and worked tirelessly to raise and mentor her four children; she was very proud of each one of them and always stayed in close touch with them. Viv firmly believed that "the family that prays together, stays together," and she and Bob hardly ever missed a Sunday church service. Viv learned to play golf after her children had left home, and she and Bob enjoyed playing together for many years. Viv was also an excellent bridge player, barely falling short of Life Master status. Viv loved her association with her Tri-Delta sorority and joined alumnae groups wherever she lived. She and Bob were members of Edgewood Country Club, Fox Chapel Golf Club, the University Club and the Pittsburgh Athletic Association in Pittsburgh and of Fiddlesticks Country Club in Ft. Myers. Viv is survived by her daughter Susan (John Klein), her son Robert, Jr. (Jennifer), her son David (Veronica) and her daughter Janet (Brian Reed), as well as grandchildren Jennifer Klein Seaman, Thomas Klein, Matthew Verklin, Nicholas Verklin, Emily Verklin, Ryan Verklin, Timothy Verklin, Catherine Verklin, Caroline Reed and Vivienne Reed, and great-grandchildren Henry and Brady Seaman, Georgia, Lila and Tommy Klein and Maxine Verklin.
