Paul Edward Klein

Paul was the son of Abraham Ehrenfeld Klein and Anna (Rubin) Klein. Anna died when Paul was 14, and Paul was raised by his father, Abe, with strong influences from aunts and uncles, especially the late Sarah Rubin. All his life, Paul spoke with reverence of his father and of fatherhood, and he served as a wonderful role model when his sons became fathers themselves.

Paul would say that his youth was all about playing basketball and that he wasn’t interested in anything that would take time away from playing basketball on the playground. But he might have been exaggerating a bit, because he also attended the selective Bronx High School of Science. Next he attended Queens College, where he played basketball as a 6’2” center with a dangerous hook shot and 95% free-throw percentage. Alas, with the skill set of a center but not the height, college marked the end of his basketball career. But as a basketball star at Queens College, he was heavily recruited by fraternities; he used that clout by insisting that he would not join unless his Black teammate was invited as well.

Always a sports fan, Paul spoke often of how proud he and his father were when the Brooklyn Dodgers called up Jackie Robinson. They bought their first television to watch him play.

Though always remembering the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became a loyal fan of the home teams — baseball, football, basketball, and hockey — as he moved to the D.C. area and later to Arizona.

Tennis was the sport of his adulthood, playing socially and competitively and continuing to beat his older son well into his sixties. It was through tennis that he met his wife and the love of his life, Michele Domac, also his best friend and partner in all things for the rest of his life.

Paul was one of the leading public-sector labor lawyers of his time. At the age of 29, he was chosen as the first Director of Public Employment Practices and Representation of New York State’s new Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). PERB thrived and became a model for other states, and Paul continued his career in labor law. He represented public-school teachers in New York as general counsel of the New York Educators Association, served as chief counsel to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and finally worked as an independent labor arbitrator until his retirement.

Paul is survived by his wife of 42 years, Michele Domac Klein; by his sons, Douglas (Michelle) and Matthew (Ann); by his brother Richard and nephews David and Eli; and by four adoring grandchildren who will miss their “crazy Grandpa.”

Burial and memorial service will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, https://www.lbda.org/.