Clara Kleinman

Clara Kleinman

July 1, 1926- March 23, 2025

Clara Kleinman passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the age of 98, in her home in Santa Monica, California. Clara lived a remarkable life surrounded by family and friends. She was a fighter through and through; tough, sassy, smart, and not afraid to tell it like it was.

Born July 1, 1926 in the slums of St. Louis to Russian and Romanian Jewish immigrants, Clara was the second youngest of nine children. They were raised in a three-room house without indoor plumbing, witnessing many hardships and facing daily struggles to survive. Clara credits her mother’s hardworking spirit along with The Salvation Army and The Central Institute for the Deaf for helping her overcome poverty and speech impediment challenges and inspiring her to work hard every day to make her life better.

After serving as 8th grade class president, she went to trade school where she excelled at shorthand and typing. She began her first full-time job at age 15 as a biller, working her way into the secretarial pool for the Army Record Center where she took top secret meeting minutes during World War II. She married her late husband, Jerome “Jerry” Kleinman, before he was sent overseas. Soon after, they welcomed their son, Steve, in St. Louis, and daughter, Anita, in Detroit, before moving to Los Angeles in 1956.

Clara worked hard to become a speed typist. Typing over 200 words/minute enabled her to get multiple jobs at a time to support her family and inspire her children to also work hard to achieve their goals. She valued working for Miller & Co. before eventually working proudly for her daughter as accountant and controller for Anita Mann Productions until she was 85.

Clara then turned her energy to volunteering, tutoring low-income children at the Santa Monica Library, and providing data entry for the Venice Family Clinic. Coming full circle, Clara was honored to serve as treasurer for The Salvation Army Santa Monica Women’s Auxiliary through her late 80’s, planning annual fashion shows and Christmas Sprees, helping the next generation of children in need.

Clara loved cooking and is remembered for her signature cream puffs, pies, veal chops, and chopped liver on Ritz crackers. She was also a card shark with a sharp brain for numbers and strategy (and maybe some card counting) and loved to teach her grandchildren and great-grandchildren how to play gin, contract rummy, or poker. Clara enjoyed playing blackjack in Las Vegas and put Steve through dental school on her winnings! She was also committed to finding ways to stay healthy and active, always trying new things, believing in herself, and sharing her wellness tips with others (which usually involved chocolate). She never stopped encouraging everyone around her to do what makes them happy and to be too stubborn to stop fighting to make their lives better every day.

Clara is the beloved mother of Steve (Sherry) Kleinman, Anita Mann (Allen) Kohl; grandmother of David Lebowitz, Andy (Ashley) Lebowitz, Courtney Kleinman (Paul Colbert), Stephanie Kleinman (Ryan French), Brit Kleinman (Marcello Manso); great grandmother of Sophie, Oliva, Zoey, Taylor, Avery, Lexi, Genevieve, Bennett, Elliott, Clay, and Maya; daughter of the late Henry Adelstein and Yetta Schneiderman Adelstein; sister to her late siblings Sol Adelstein, Rose Rosen, Lil Padratzik, Bessie Kinney, Harry Adelstein, Lou Adelstein, Benny Adelstein, and Julius “Murphy” Adelstein; aunt, great aunt, and step grandmother and great grandmother to many!

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Clara’s honor to your local Salvation Army chapter or to the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis.