Annette Kleeman

September 30, 1923 - September 26, 2025 Annette Katherine Wollman was born in Los Angeles and died peacefully in her home in Santa Monica, just four days shy of her 102nd birthday. Annette was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and aunt. She was smart and beautiful, kind and generous, warm, caring and full of life.
Annette grew up near Echo Park in Los Angeles. She attended Belmont High School and then UCLA, majoring in Chemistry. On the day of her graduation from college, June 24, 1945, she married Charles Richard Kleeman ("Chuck") whom she met at UCLA. Because of WWII, the country needed doctors and he had been accepted to medical school at UC San Francisco after only three years of college.
Throughout Chuck's medical training, Annette worked to support the young couple, first in San Francisco as a chemist for Clorox and Acme Brewery, and later on the east coast as head of several hospital laboratories. During their time in SF, she also attended UC Berkeley and obtained an MA degree in biochemistry. When the Korean War broke out, Chuck was drafted into the army, but served in a research position; for the first time, he had an income so the couple was able to start a family.
Annette and Chuck had three daughters, Karen, Dena and Maura. Karen and Dena were born on the east coast and Maura in Los Angeles, where Chuck had taken a position as Associate Professor at the West LA Veteran's Administration Hospital. Other than a sabbatical year in London, the family stayed in Los Angeles and Annette was a full-time mother.
Annette served as PTA President at the neighborhood elementary school, and was very active with the League of Women Voters. Both Annette and Chuck followed current events, were politically active, and supported a variety of liberal and Jewish causes, as well as the perfoming arts.
In 1972, Annette, Chuck and Maura moved to Israel where Chuck was a professor of medicine at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, and spent three years in Jerusalem. The family developed many close Israeli friends and a deep bond with the country, returning each year for at least a month to their small apartment in Jerusalem.
After moving back to LA, Annette returned to UCLA and obtained a second MA degree in Public Health with a specialization in nutrition. She then had a new career as a nutritionist, working at the university and also with private patients, helping people to manage various illnesses and lead healthier lives.
As the daughters grew up and had their own families, Annette was a devoted grandmother who loved spending time with her six grandchildren. In later years, she and Chuck also traveled extensively around the world. They were married for 76 years, until his death in 2021.
Annette was blessed with a long and full life, and she gave so much love and goodness back – to her family, first and foremost, and to her community in Los Angeles and in Israel.
She is survived by her three daughters, Dr. Karen Kleeman, Dena Kleeman and partner Rob Ferenc, Maura Kleeman Resnick and husband Mark Resnick and grandchildren Sam Levine and wife Mia Psorn, Anna Levine and husband Casey Sullivan, Dr. Miriam Goldblum, Daniel Goldblum, Ethan Resnick and Aaron Resnick.
Donations in Annette's memory may be made to Leo Baeck Temple (https://leobaecktemple.org/); the New Israel Fund (https://www.nif.org/); or the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (https://www.rcfp.org/). Condolences to the family should be sent to 6401 Maryland Drive, Los Angeles, 90048 or kleemankremen@gmail.com