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EDWARD KLINE Obituary
February 7, 1932 - June 24, 2017. Insightful Supporter of Human Rights, Edward Kline was born in 1932 in New York in an entrepreneurial Jewish family with roots in Hungary, Germany and Ukraine. A Yale graduate, he served as president of his family company, Kline Brothers (a chain of 24 department stores which was later sold to a local investor) after his father died suddenly on Christmas day. In 1968, he founded Chekhov Publishing Corporation which published works of Soviet dissident writers in Russian; in 1973, he co-founded Khronika Press, a Russian-language publishing house named after The Chronicle of Current Events, the leading underground human rights bulletin in the USSR. Kline played a major role in transmitting the information about human rights cases in the USSR to the West. He helped to establish the Andrei Sakharov Foundation which he was the president of. While Ed was a towering figure, both intellectually and physically, so much of what he did was in silence, just the way he wanted it. Married for almost 60 years to his wife, Jill, he leaves behind his daughter, Carole, son-in-law Sherman Feuer, and grandchildren Alexandra and William Feuer. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
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Memories and Condolences
for EDWARD KLINE
Randy Belcher
October 12, 2020
Mr. Kline owned Kline Brothers Company for the 10 or so years I worked for the company in stores across the Midwest - before the company was sold after several family losses. I met him only a couple of times and he was a great human being. I remember him coming up to me in one of the stores we were about to open and ask me where to empty the trash. He was actually emptying the trash that had accumulated during the pre-opening. How many company owners would do this today in a company the size that Kline's was at the time. He was so very human and I will never forget him and his mother. RIP Mr. Kline. You will be very missed!!!
Ljuba Popovic
November 12, 2017
Trying to find his Daughter Carol and his wife Jill
Nancy Law
July 3, 2017
Dear Kline family, The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America learned of Mr. Kline's passing from complications of MG. We send our deepest condolences for the loss of the great man who has helped so many. We commit to continuing to lead research efforts for better treatments and a cure--so that MG never takes another life. With sympathy, Nancy Law, MGFA CEO
June 29, 2017
I saw Ed frequently while I was Radio Liberty's Director of Information. Never have I known anyone with more selfless devotion.
Charles Krewson
June 28, 2017
Ed was a wonderful man, smart and kind with an incredible sense of humor. My heart goes out to you Jill. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
James Schumaker
June 26, 2017
My Deepest condolences. I got to know Ed during the early 1980's when I was in charge of human rights matters on the Soviet Desk in the State Department. Ed would drop by periodically to discuss important cases and what we could do to help prisoners of conscience. Ed really made a difference, and he will be missed by all who knew him.
Michele A Berdy
June 26, 2017
My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
Nicholas Arena
June 26, 2017
Sincere condolences, Jill, for your loss. And our loss, too. As a lawyer working for rule of law in Russia, Ed was both an inspiration and a teacher for me. The gatherings at your home allowed us in the human rights field to meet our Russian counterparts. Ed surely deserves more than a footnote in the fall of the USSR.
June 26, 2017
To the Kline Family: My heartfelt sympathies go out to the family and friends during this difficult time. I hope that the promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 can bring comfort. Knowing that there's a hope for the ones we have lost in death can be so reassuring.
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