Herb Kleven, the son of Herman and Gertie Kleven, was born on October 21, 1973, in Hatton North Dakota. He died at Harmony and Compassion Care Home in Kent, Washington, on January 21, 2020 at the age of 96.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Dorothy of 62 years, brother Elmer, and sisters Mable and Alice.
Herb is survived by daughter Penny Westendorf (Jerry), son Ron Kleven (Kathy); four grandchildren, Amy Reisner, David Westendorf, Alison Dickinson, and Adrienne Kleven; seven great grandchildren, Davis Reisner, Jackson Reisner, Sydney Reisner, Oscar Westendorf, Gus Westendorf, Joel Dickinson, and Bridget Dickinson. He is also survived by brothers Rudy and Orlin.
Herb left his North Dakota home at age 16 and traveled by train and bus to Washington to take various jobs as a farm hand and be close to older brother Elmer who was in the service. He met Dorothy in June of 1946, got engaged November of 1946, and married March 8, 1947. She was the love of his life.
His 96 years of life were packed to the brim. He worked and managed Stokely Van-Camp in its various stages for over 40 years; was an active member of Kent Lutheran Church for over 50 years; read the entire Bible from cover to cover; built three houses without ever working on a Sunday; rode his bike to North Dakota twice; cut, gathered, and stacked enough cords of wood to last a lifetime; was a mechanic for many friends and family; and attended numerous sport and music activities of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Herb was a good person. He never met a stranger and always offered a helping hand. He will be greatly missed. The family wishes any remembrances be sent to Seattle Children’s Hospital or Kent Lutheran Church.
A memorial service is planned for Wednesday, January 29, at 1 p.m. at Kent Lutheran Church.
In consideration of how we voice our opinions in the modern world, we’ve closed comments on our websites. We value the opinions of our readers and we encourage you to keep the conversation going.
Please feel free to share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 300 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it.
