Thomas Kling

Thomas F Kling Feb. 6, 1923 - Feb. 17, 2012 Peacefully, surrounded by the family who loved him dearly, Tom left us to be with His Lord on Friday, February 17, 2012. Tom was born on February 6, 1923 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. He received a B.A. degree in 1946 from Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, and in 1948 earned an M.B.A. at Stanford University. In 1950, he moved to Orinda, California, was employed by Industrial Indemnity Insurance Company in San Francisco, and became a principal of Putnam, Knudsen and Weaver Insurance Brokers, Oakland, California, in 1963. He retired as an associate of Diversified Risk Insurance Brokers located in Berkeley, California in 1992. Tom was one of the seven founders of the Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church in Orinda, California, where he served as director of the Sunday School, a member of the Council, and as President of the congregation. He was a Board Director of Salem Lutheran Home in Oakland and on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. For twelve years in Orinda he was a Cub and Boy Scout Master and assistant Scoutmaster at the 1960 National Jamboree in Colorado Springs, Colorado, composed of 50,000 scouts and 4,000 leaders. He volunteered for the Oakland United Crusade, directing the solicitation of gifts from small-medium firms. Tom also served on the Orinda Miramonte School Parents Board. Tom married his Carleton College sweetheart, Helen Keith, from Rochester, Minnesota, in 1945. Helen died from cancer in 1986. In 1992, he married Marie Olson, the wife of his deceased Carleton College roommate, Robert Olson. She was afflicted with cancer and passed away in 2001. Alison McKinlay from Edinburgh, Scotland, became his wife in 2003. Helen Keith was the mother of his two children; Dr Thomas F Kling, Jr, residing in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Tamsen Helen Smith, living in Boring, Oregon. Tom was thrilled with and proud of his four grandchildren, and his three great grandchildren. Another child will join that group imminently. A Memorial Service will be held at 10.30 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 433 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563. Gifts in Tom's honor are invited to Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, 2770 Marin Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708 or to Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 433 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563.