Miriam K. Klein, 93; donated to charities

Miriam Kline Klein, 93, of Center City, who with her late husband, Raymond, made significant gifts to organizations here and overseas, died Thursday at her home.

Mrs. Klein and her husband did not simply write checks. They hosted charity parties and balls at their home for the Albert Einstein Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and other institutions.

A 1978 item in The Inquirer reported a benefit dinner party for 70 guests at the Kleins' home, "which occupies an entire floor of a Center City apartment house" and had "a red, silk-lined ballroom."

Mrs. Klein, a native of the Ogontz section, graduated from Germantown High School. Over the years she and her husband contributed millions of dollars to worthy causes.

In 1975, they made a major contribution to construction of the Raymond and Miriam Klein Jewish Community Center in Northeast Philadelphia, and in 1996 she and her son Stephen supported major renovations there.

In 2003, at the 25th anniversary of the opening of the center, Mrs. Klein told the audience, "Raymond and I were always interested in enriching the lives of children and families, and assuring that the Jewish values and traditions were handed down from one generation to the next."

In 1977, a family gift established the Raymond and Miriam Klein Religious School at Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park.

After her husband's death in 1995 after 56 years of marriage, she and her son dedicated the sanctuary at Adath Jeshurun in his honor.

In 1986, Mrs. Klein and her husband established the Raymond and Miriam Klein Foundation, which for five years gave an annual award for the enhancement of Jewish life. The first went to former U.N. Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick.

From 1989 through 1991, she and her husband funded construction of the Raymond and Miriam Klein Community Center in Holon, Israel.

She and her son funded the 1996 construction of a sports center there and an addition to it in 2003.

The Kleins were also significant contributors to construction of the Kimmel Center.

In 1950, Raymond Klein founded Klein Packaging Co., which distributed produce. It grew, following the example of a company run by his father, Israel.

Mrs. Klein was president of the woman's association at Adath Jeshurun and was a board member of the Federation of Jewish Agencies, among other groups.

Mrs. Klein was a collector of fine china and modern art, her son said, and a gifted amateur pianist who held season tickets for several decades to performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Besides her son, she is survived by a brother, Harold; three granddaughters; and three great-grandsons. Another son, Warren, died in 1981.

The funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. today at Congregation Adath Jeshurun, 7763 Old York Rd., Elkins Park. Burial will be in Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose.