William “Bill” F. Klein, 90, died Nov 22, 2016, at Agrace Hospice in Janesville.
He was born in Beloit on July 10, 1926, to Floyd and Anita (Wright) Klein who lived in Sharon.
He grew up and graduated from Delavan High School in 1944 where he played football, baseball and basketball. He went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was on the crew team.
On June 5, 1949, he married Evelyn R. Thurn in Edgewood, Iowa. In 1945, he entered active duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps and was in the U.S. Air Force until 1951. He worked for his father’s laundry business on Third Street in Delavan, was the manager of Sentry, owned Klein’s Kottage Inn during the 1960s, was a ranger at Geneva National, worked for the ski hill in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and officially retired from the Walworth County Sheriffs Department in 1977.
He lived in Wisconsin; Florida; Colorado; St. George, Utah; and Hot Springs, Ark. He made friends wherever he went and enjoyed golfing, snow skiing, and the Packers.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Evelyn; children David (Cindy) Klein of Koloa, Hawaii, and Paula (Doyle) Heller of Janesville; grandchildren Jeremy (Lisa) Schutt, Melissa (David) Larsen and Christina Klein; great-grandchild Luke Schutt; and brother Robert Klein of Lakeland, Fla.
Service is at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 910 East Geneva St, Delavan, with the Rev. Elisa Brandt officiating. Visitation is from 3 p.m. until the time of the service Wednesday. A reception will follow the service at the church. Military burial rites by the Delavan American Legion will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Oakwood Cemetery, 100 Cemetery Road, Sharon, for close friends and relatives with assistance from Betzer Funeral Home.
For online condolences and memories, visit betzerfuneralhome.com.
