Raleigh Jane Hess Klein

1944 - 2020

Raleigh Jane Hess Klein
May 25, 1944 - July 4, 2020
Resident of Oakland, CA
Raleigh Jane Hess Klein, known as Jane, 76, died on July 4, 2020. Born in Ironton, OH on May 25, 1944, Jane was the salutatorian of her high school in East Brunswick, NJ. She attended Wooster College and then University of Rochester, where she completed her Bachelors of Science in nursing in 1966. She completed her Master's Degree in nursing education at New York University in 1971.
She married Larry Klein in June 1969 after converting to Judaism. They had three children together: Jonathan, Amy, and Greg. Jane worked as a nurse and was a dedicated mother. She and Larry separated in 1994 and later divorced. She pursued a second career as a teacher for students with special needs, earning a teaching credential and second Master's Degree from California State University Fullerton. In 1999, Jane was recognized as Teacher of the Year at Rorimer Elementary School within the Rowland Unified School District. She studied and celebrated her own Bat Mitzvah in 2004 at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton, CA. She moved to Oakland in 2007, teaching at Korematsu Discovery Academy in the Oakland Unified School District before retiring in 2010 to pursue grandmothering and volunteer activism. She was a dedicated volunteer with the League of Women Voters Oakland, GO Public Schools, and the International Association of Early Childhood Education.
Predeceased by parents James Alfred Hess and Catherine Rebecca Whitney (aka Kit Hess), brother Perry Hess, and brother-in-law Nash Basom, Jane is survived by brother Noel Hess of Ayer, MA, sister Mariel Hess of Glover, VT, sister-in-law Carol Hess of Jaffrey, NH, three children: Jonathan Klein, Amy Klein Chojnacki, Greg Klein and their families in Oakland, CA, ex-husband Larry Klein of Santa Ana, CA, and many extended family members and friends.
In one of her last Zoom conversations, she asked her son to read Mary Oliver's "In Blackwater Woods." At the poem's end, she held up three fingers and whispered, "Three things." She was emphasizing this part: "To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go."
Memorial contributions may be made to those caring for children in our communities, supporting worthy local causes (especially those promoting education and democracy like the Black Teacher Project and Swing Left) and by your active participation and engagement with the 2020 elections.
Black Teacher Project https://www.blackteacherproject.org/
Swing Left https://secure.actblue.com/donate/swingleft


View the online memorial for Raleigh Jane Hess Klein