Shirley Jean Kline

1930 - 2020

January 13, 1930 - July 22, 2020 Shirley Jean Kline died at home in Rolling Hills Estates on 22 July 2020. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Frank Menefee Kline, her daughter Dr. Margaret Lynn Kline, her son Frank Fries Kline, her daughter in law Mary Kobsa Kline, her grandsons Dylan and Jason, and her great-granddaughter Charlie Monroe Kline. Her parents were Arthur and Margaret Steinmetz. Margaret ran Fries Hardware in Cincinnati after the death of her father. Just before World War II Shirley was asked to order a dozen hand saws, but ordered twelve dozen by accident. The net result was that Fries Hardware had hand saws during World War II when no one else did. Shirley was always lucky.She grew up among relatives in the German community in Cincinnati. The family helped to found Martini Evangelical Reformed Church. Shirley, her parents, and her grandparents attended church every week. Her grandmother organized and ran the church kitchen. No one argued with her.Shirley was an only child. She was a straight A student in grade school. She then attended Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school, taking the bus over two hours each way and through two transfers to attend. She was again a straight A student. As part of a science project she did research on the embryology of the guinea pig and did dissections and drawings at every stage of gestation. She won the school science prize; as a result and partly with encouragement from one of her teachers, she applied to Wellesley College. She received a full scholarship. At Wellesley she got her first B and was devastated. She got over it, as she usually did when dealing with life's problems. She returned to Cincinnati after her second year and started premed as a biology major. She was so competent that they used her, as an undergraduate, to teach the other premeds. When she applied to medical school the Dean told her they would have to accept her because of her grades and credentials if she applied. He also said you may not want to take some man's place and then get married and have children and not practice. She decided to take a few years off and worked as a lab technician at Cincinnati General Hospital. While working in the lab she met her husband. It was a good marriage and two outstanding children were part of the result.Shirley was obviously intelligent and a hard worker. Any organization she joined usually made her president. At age 70, she said, "I am not going to be a president of anything anymore." She kept her word. She was active in PTA, several equestrian organizations in Malibu and Palos Verdes, and a docent at the LA Zoo. Shirley founded the Palos Verdes Peninsula Horseman's Association with Joe Lehman and was their first president. She was an avid equestrian who owned and rode horses until she was in her seventies. Shirley read music and was a fine choral singer. At one point the Gregg Smith Singers wanted her to go on tour with them, but she refused. Later she sang in the St. Luke's choir. She was an exceptional seamstress who made her own clothes and clothes for the entire family. She was a fine quilter and a member of the South Bay Quilting Society. Shirley was an avid gardener who kept us supplied with home-grown vegetables.She made friends through her life that she kept for a lifetime. After her death, we got notes and emails from people who told us how helpful she had been to them as a friend, when they met socially, and at meetings that included church, horse shows, and quilt meetings. She worked hard to make anything she attended a success.She kept an open house where all of her children's friends were welcome. Many have very fond memories of her hospitality and food after school. Shirley had a smile that, one friend said, could light up a room.She was organized and disciplined and expected others to be the same. She was also an extremely kind and loving person once you got past the German perfectionistic veneer.Shirley and Frank were members of St. Luke's Presbyterian Church for over thirty years. Shirley was a deacon, a member of the mission commission, and ran Project Needs that made casseroles for the indigent and homeless.Her dementia started when she was 80, but she was so bright that only her husband detected it. The dementia gradually worsened and for the last year of her life she was bedridden. She had several loving and competent caregivers. Even in her debilitated state she was loving and well-loved. Her hearing remained acute and she often surprised us with sudden perceptive comments. She slept a great deal but was surprisingly present when she was awake. For example, one night after Shirley was in bed and we thought she was asleep Justina asked about our marriage. Frank said, "We were both wounded children. We had our ups and downs, but we made it. We never gave up and we did it together." The supposedly-sleeping Shirley said, with perfect timing, yeah! Frank and Justina laughed, and Shirley gave us her wonderful smile. We were all in agreement.Hospice was a superb help to us during her last year.Every night Justina, Shirley's primary caregiver, said, "Good night our pretty girl, Sweet dreams & God bless you. We love you (kiss kiss kiss). Then Shirley went peacefully to sleep.Someone summed up Shirley's life by saying, "She made the world a better place and if there is anything after this life, she will make that better too."The memorial service will be online in September 2020.In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Luke's Presbyterian Church, 26825 Rolling Hills Rd. Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274. Write Shirley Kline Memorial Fund in the memo line of the check.