John Raymond Kleiser Ph.D.

1919 - 2020

John Raymond Kleiser, Ph.D.

John R. Kleiser, age 100, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 15, at Willow Valley Communities. He was the beloved husband for 73 years of Harriet Kelly Means Kleiser, who predeceased him in March 2019. His three sons were with him during his final days.

John, or Jack as he was called, was born in November 1919 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the son of the late John and Ethel Kleiser. A lifelong Pennsylvanian, he received three degrees in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania including a PhD. in Psychology.

From 1941 to 1945, he served in World War II as a Lieutenant, J.G. in the U.S. Navy, participating in the D-Day invasion and operating in the Naval communications center in Cherbourg until the end of the European war. He returned from the war and married Harriet Kelly Means in June 1945.

After the war, he taught psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and Gerard College in Philadelphia. In 1949 he began working at Devereux Schools in Devon, Pennsylvania, and became head of the clinical psychology department. In 1970 he took over the psychology department of the Wood School, retiring in 1982.

Jack had many interests and talents. He sang as a tenor in the Chorus of the Philadelphia Lyric Opera during the sixties and seventies and also sang for 30 years in the choir of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Devon, PA. He volunteered at Lankenau Hospital in the intensive care unit for heart surgery patients from 1983 to 1995. In the Rosemont, Pennsylvania school system, he was active in the PTA and Cub Scouts.

In 1995 he moved with his wife to Willow Valley Manor in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he was active in various clubs including chorus, acting, painting, golf, computers, and volunteered as a Minute Man and in the mail room. He was a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster.

Jack is survived by sons Randal, David and Jeffrey; two daughters-in-law, Jana Strauss Kleiser and Diana Walczak; four grandchildren, Io, Roman, Jackson, and Grant; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial/graveside service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in his memory to Willow Valley Employee Fund: TEAM, c/o PNC Bank, 810 Willow Valley Square, Lancaster, PA 17602, or Caring Hospice Services, 101 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17603.