Mary M Klein

After a valiant battle with old age, Mary Murphy Klein passed away of natural causes in the Nathanial Witherell Nursing Center in Greenwich, on September 28, 2014, following a long and rich life. Born in Greenwich on July 24, 1921, to James and Delia (McNamara) Murphy, she was the third of their six children. She attended St. Mary’s Grammar School and later graduated from Greenwich High School, where she was the valedictorian of the Class of 1939. In 1942, she graduated from the Greenwich Hospital School of Nursing, again, valedictorian of her class. For thirteen straight years, she held the record in the State of Connecticut with the highest score on the state nursing exam.

During World War II, she served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Nursing Corps, being deployed in Great Britain and France. She later received the Overseas Medal for her service. On her return home, she became an industrial nurse with the Electrolux Company.

On July 2, 1949, she married Ralph R. Klein of Stamford. They took up residence in that city, where she resided for the next sixty years. They raised three sons, Robert, Bruce, and Peter, and she later became a school nurse with the City of Stamford Public Schools, working at a range of sites, most notably Roxbury Elementary School. During this time, she was actively involved with the School Nurses’ Association, with her close friend Agnes Egan Malloy.

Mary enjoyed the outdoors, especially times at Stamford and Greenwich beaches with family and friends. With her sons’ participation in sports, she became an avid baseball fan for the rest of her life, rooting, in particular, for the Boston Red Sox. She will always be remembered for her loving devotion to family and friends.

In May, 2001, her husband of 52 years, Ralph, predeceased her. Since 2011 she was a resident at the Nathaniel Witherell. She is survived by: Dr. Robert Klein and his wife Deborah of Wilbraham, MA; Dr. Bruce Klein, his wife Jennifer, and their children Megan, Eric, and John of Canandiagua, NY; and Mr. Peter Klein, his wife Cathy, and their children Rudolph and Michelle of Stamford, CT.

Visiting hours will be held at Leo P. Gallagher Funeral Home in Stamford, from 5-8pm, on October 10. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Church in Stamford on October 11, at 11am, followed by internment in St. John’s Cemetery. Donations, in her memory, can be made to the Nathaniel Witherell Nursing Center, 70 Parsonage Road, Greenwich, CT 06830.