Doris Klein

Doris Klein, 97, of Newtown, beloved mother of Richard Klein, passed away peacefully at Masonicare of Newtown on Monday, November 6th. She was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 27th, 1920, daughter of the late Laurence and Marina Panizza.

Doris received a liberal arts degree from the New Jersey College for Women (later Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University) and took design courses the New School in New York City, subsequently working at the department store L. Bamberger & Co., a subsidiary of R.H. Macy, in Newark where she came a senior buyer after WW II. She frequently traveled to Europe in her role as senior buyer for the traditional furniture and lamps and lighting departments of the company. She married Frederick W. Klein in 1950, who was also employed by Bamberger. Doris moved to Westport with her family in 1961, where she became very active in both St. Luke's Church, where she was a parishioner, and numerous organizations in town, including the Westport Historical Society, the Westport Arts Council, the Y Women of Westport, the Westport Tennis Association. She also served as a member and a term as Vice President of the P.T.A. in Westport in the 1960s. At St, Luke's, she was a member of the Church Council, and served in the 1980s as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, bringing the sacraments to homebound church members. In the 1990s she briefly served as a Justice of the Peace in Westport, officiating at numerous marriages. Doris's passions included gardening, tennis, travel, and theatre, frequently attending performances at the Westport Playhouse, and Long Wharf and the Yale Rep in New Haven.

She is survived by her loving son, Richard Klein, and daughter-in-law, Mary Kenealy, of Norwalk. Services will be private. For information or to offer an online condolence please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com