Remembering David Klein

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David Klein. What do you think of when you hear is name? Enigmatic? Lightning rod? Trailblazer? Inexplicable? Surprising? Unpredictable? Hilarious? Incomprehensible? Devoted? Loyal? Missed?

These sentiments begin to describe him, but only having known him can you understand that he was truly indescribable. So rather than focus on my friend David, I’ll ask you to try to consider his accomplishments during the three years he served as JCL board chair, and how they impacted Louisville’s Jewish Community.

Even that is a challenging list to distill into a single column, as treatises could be written about his motivations, accomplishments, setbacks and legacy, as he touched so many of us, and there are a wide variety of opinions about him.

One steadfast truth about David is that he placed the needs of the community above his own. His two passions were providing for the cancer community and providing for the Jewish community. In each case, it was a community he was attempting to serve, in the way he thought best.

He taught me the derivation of the word community, from the latin word communitas meaning “together” and “gift”. The word community, literally translated, means “to give among each other”. When you think about our agency’s name, the Jewish Community of Louisville, we literally mean Jewish Louisvillians giving to each other.

Read here for David Klein’s final message.

Read here for full obituary.

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