Michael Klion

Obituary of Michael Klion
Michael died July 5, 2023 at the age of 84. He was born in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida. His family always said he bled "Dodger Blue" as he was a life long Dodger fan but had a long standing grudge when they left Brooklyn...he refused to wear anything that had an LA logo on it....his wife of 61 years, Janet, always had to buy his Dodger gear on eBay to get the original Brooklyn logo. His friends called him Mike but he was always Michael to his wife.
Michael is survived by his son, Scott, daughter, Rori and her two daughters, Hanaleah and Haileigh. Since he traveled for business when his kids were little he is making up for it by being a doting grandfather.
Michael was a sports fan and enjoyed playing as a child until a congenital heart defect sidelined him. He was taken to Boston Children's Hospital for experimental surgery-he was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta, which in those days was considered a death sentence. He and six other children were taken into the hospital-5 died, 1 survived with permanent heart problems and Michael survived and thrived. The technique used on him has become the current heart bypass procedure. Not sure if the medical books used his name or just considered him Patient #7.
Michael worked for the Dept. of HUD for 32 years and before his work with the government he was a newspaper reporter in New York and worked in public relations. During his time with HUD he was a speech writer for the Secretary of HUD as well as various government officials that wanted to include HUD information in their public speeches. He served on a White House Committee as Liaison for American-Israeli Affairs. He worked at the main headquarters in D.C. as well as offices in Wisconsin, Maryland and Virginia. His last post was 1999 in Las Vegas were he retired.
They settled in Summerlin and he used his experience and knowledge acquired at HUD by serving on the Summerlin North HOA Compliance Committee, serving as Chairman for many years.
Michael always participated in his children's activities. As a volunteer he was Badge Chairman for the Boy Scouts, Fundraising Chairman for the High School Band Boosters and anything else that was needed. He was also very active in the Jewish Community-serving as the District 6 Vice President for B'nai B'rith as well as active in his local synagogue, even being the last President of his synagogue overseeing all issues before it merged with a larger synagogue. No matter were they were located he was an active member of the Jewish community.
He enjoyed traveling and was very good natured when his wife, Janet, would sign up for excursions-even smiling as his allergies had him sneezing his way thru a botanical garden tour. But when she signed up for a cave tour he stayed in the gift shop above ground to work on his crossword puzzles. Michael dealt with glaucoma since 1980 and didn't do well in dark places. Michael always looked for the good in people and was slow to anger. He was always interested in current events and could talk about different subjects, if the discussion got a bit heated then Michael would use his skills in diplomacy to get it back on track and stay friendly. During his time with HUD he was a labor relations negotiator and that training came in handy in those situations.
While traveling and attending arts and craft shows with Janet he always kept his eye out for interesting coffee mugs. His collection was over a hundred items-most hand made and one of a kind. It started when they were newlyweds and on vacation with friends. They wandered into a gift shop and Michael said he wanted some coffee mugs rather then the small cups that came with their dishes...but they couldn't pick a design they both liked and their friends were getting restless, so they took one of each and then family and friends started getting him mugs and that started the collection.
He was a good and loyal friend and will be missed by many. Interment will be in Miami, Florida and there will be no ceremony in Las Vegas. For those wishing to make a donation in his memory please consider: UCLA Stein Eye Institute, Attn: Dr. Joseph Caprioli, to be used for glaucoma research: 100 Stein Plaza, Floor 2, Los Angeles, CA 90095