Jay Kleven

Jay and I were in the same English class. On the first day of class we were assigned a report on "Lost Generation Writers". Neither of us had ever heard of those writers before. That evening I went to the very old wooden building along side of the SLZ fire department to look up said writers. There was Jay sitting at a table smiling up at me. I plunked down next to him shaking my head and asking him if he had any luck. I don't know if we were that dumb or didn't ask the right questions but we...

I met Jay when we played Little League. I played ball against him until we finally became teammates in high school and then American Legion. He was one of the nicest people I ever met. Even though we lost touch after high school I was proud to consider him a friend.
It shocked and saddened me to hear that he is no longer with us. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to his family with their loss.

While attempting to look up some of my old St.John's classmates, I was sad to to discover that Jay had passed away. I played on the St. Johns basketball team with Jay in 7th and 8th grade along with Ken Sobrero(who later played at Gonzaga) Dave Woodfin, John Bellinger, and others. I also played against Jay in Little League - I believe Jay played with Chris Dayak(who played varsity Bball at St. Mary's College)on the US Market team. Jay was always a fun, positive teammate. He was one of the...

My heartfelt condolences to the
the Kleven family.
I have asked my brothers Mike and Pat if they had talked to Jay over the years. I saw and talked to Jay at a Norfolk Tides game(probably about 1975) and to this day I still have an autographed baseball from Jay. I'm truly saddened with his passing.
Sincerely,
George Mannion( St. John's 1958)

To All The Klevens,
We just got back from another funeral of a SLZ HS grad where we told of the sudden passing of Jay. Dan and i were shocked.
Jay and I went to St. John's for eight years together and then SLZ.. Dan got to meet Jay through the Murray family and at SLZ when he played baseball and basketball for the Rebels. He was certainly the All-American boy next door known for his athletic and leadership skills. But Jay was so much more than that. He was kind to all....

I just came back from the funeral.There was alot of people Jay was loved by.There was one person that I was so proud of.That was Jay's son Jerry John.He got up in front of everyone and just took care of it.He let us know it's going to be ok.You made your dad proud "little cuz".The pictures of Jay in Mets uniform blew me away.Live game shots!! I was so proud to be Jay's cousin today.I will miss him.KLEVEN KLAN #1

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. May your memories bring you comfort.

I enjoyed playing Fastpitch softball with Jay and Jerry. It was great to listen to Jay's stories about his Pro-Baseball experiences.

My thoughts and prayers are with you in your time of grief. I was so sorry to learn of Jay's passing. I grew up on Via Arroyo, at the opening of Via Bolsa. It was a great childhood full of good memories and adventures, which always centered around the Klevens. My heartfelt sympathy to the Kleven family.