Carol Klein

Carol W. Klein died on May 16, 2020. She was born in Philadelphia, PA, on April 30, 1932. She was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Stein. Carol is predeceased by both of them, her loving, funny and mischievous husband Leonard Klein, and her creative and well known and loved son, Jerry Klein who hosted a talk show in WBTV radio and wrote columns for the Charlotte Observer and Creative Loafing.

Carol was lucky enough to have raised two incredibly smart and accomplished children. Jerry himself started his own family with Dana Endsley. Fortunately, Carol lived long enough to watch her grandchildren, Josh and Benjamin develop their own creative personalities.

Carol met her soulmate Lenny in Philadelphia where she attended high school. She met him on a blind date and immediately said to herself “this is the man I’m going to marry.” They knew each other for 62years and were married for 61 of those.

They married in 1951, had their son, Jerry, in 1952 and their daughter, Linda, in 1954. Lenny dragged Carol all over the east coast trying to figure what he was going to do when he grew up. They traveled to, and lived in, several southeastern cities such as Atlanta, Charleston, Columbia before settling in Charlotte, NC. Lenny was an entrepreneur starting and running businesses such as the AAA auto club and various wholesale and retail businesses.

Carol partnered with Lenny in running a toy store called the Tiny Shop in the 60s and 70s and opened her own retail maternity store, Maternity World, in the 1980s.

Linda remembers how Carol installed the value in her of fighting against racism and appreciating people of diverse backgrounds. Linda remembers a day back in 1972, a time when there was a lot of racial strife in Charlotte, when she brought several black kids from her high school choir to her house. Carol graciously hosted them and made them feel welcome into her home. Linda learned to love and respect all of humanity from Carol. Linda has applied these values to her personal, as well as, in her professional life as a well-known and respected criminal defense attorney.