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- Thoughts from Lisa Mucerino Friday, Jan 2, 2009 at 06:15 PM EST
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I remember grandpa would come over to our house and would always have a fifth avenue candy bar in one of his many pockets. My sister and I would take great joy searching for the hidden candy bar in his pockets. Once we found it we would get a hug and a toot toot in the belly button. This is one of many fond memories that will live on in our hearts forever.
Thoughts from Kerrie Weed Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 09:20 PM EST
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My grandfather was a jack of all trades. If you needed house repairs he was there!!! If you needed your car fixed he would say "bring it over." He would open the hood,jack it up, fix it, and you'd be on your merry way!!!!! And the best of all sitting with grandpa in the garage as he's smoking his cigars always talking about cars.
Thoughts from Tess Robinson Eldridge Monday, Jan 12, 2009 at 11:40 AM EST
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I will always remember Uncle Keith for his cigars, his laugh,and the funny stories he would tell. Dad always called Uncle Keith "Dudley". Why we'll never know, but eventually that is how us kids came to refer to them as Uncle "Dudley" and Aunt Audrey. Maybe he acquired it when they had the race car or when they went fishing together. We still have the running joke about my high chair,a floor vent, the placement of Uncle Keith's kitchen chair and the lack of hair on the top of his head. I will always hold dear the times we spent at your house. Aunt Audrey, ReeRee, Keithy, Lindy and DeeDee,you are in my prayers and love to you all.
- Thoughts from Chris Shepard Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 10:16 AM EST
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I sat down the other night and tried to think about what grandpa really meant to me. After giving it some thought and recounting a plethora of memories regarding him, grandma and their house; I realized that this would be the best way to pay tribute to him. Some of the best childhood memories I have happened at that house, and he was there for most if not all of them. One of the earliest ones I can remember is me, I don't think I was much more than 6 or 7, riding in his truck back to his house to meet my mother. On the way there he had to stop at the drug store. I waited patiently in the trunk and when he came back he had bought me a candy bar. He handed it to me while saying, ?Don't tell your mother?. I never did. I also remember the few weeks one summer when I helped him paint the fence at the cemetery he worked at. Mostly I remember climbing a rickety ladder 15 feet into the air to paint the sign that was above the cemetery entrance. It basically involved me hanging over the ladder with a can of spray paint trying to get the sign covered in the wind. I did manage to get the sign panted but I also managed to get a fair amount on grandpa's truck. That was another case where I didn't tell. After recounting these and many others I realized that this was a gift that he'd given me and given all of us. These memories are something that I'll have forever and something that no one can take away. I'm very grateful that he was my grandfather and I wouldn't change anything about him or about the times we had together. I always enjoyed stopping by to visit him, as he sat in the garage watching the world go by. I always enjoyed when we drove some place together in his truck, smelling of cigars and going 35 miles per hour. I always enjoyed helping him around the house. Either fixing that garage of his or taking Max out for a walk. He was my grandpa and I'll miss him very much. But I know that these memories, these times we had together happened. And no one can make them un-happen. It's comforting to know that someplace, sometime he's always working out in his garden or he's always sitting out in the garage and that he's happy.
- Thoughts from Kurt Kline Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 06:20 PM EST
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Grandpa Kline When I was told we would be able to say something about grandpa I was not sure I really had anything to say, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I do have some special moments that I remember and would like to share. I remember grandpa always working whether it was at his work, on there house, in the garden or at the cemetery. I only remember him coming to one baseball game of mine. It was the little league all-star game against Batavia in Wayland. I remember he sat up on the hill in his car, never got out, just watched from his car like many other people. We lost that Game 6-2, but I hit a 2 run homer over the flag pole in center field. When I came back to Grandma & Grandpa?s house after the game he let me know I really knocked the piss out of that ball that was it, nothing more said. I remember grandpa enlisted me to help mow the cemetery for a couple of summers. From what I remember cutting the grass was easy. His tinkering with the mowers to keep them running always amazed me. I remember he always drove the same speed in his truck and that was about 42 mph. It did not matter if it was a 30 mph zone or 55 mph zone. This used to torment grandma because her foot was always in the carburetor when she drove her Monte Carlo. I remember the Christmas lights grandma would hang outside to decorate the front of the house. Grandpa would make many statements about those Christmas lights that I won?t repeat here. He would constantly unplug them to save the electricity and grandma would plug them back in. That was a constant battle. I remember when he came to my and Julie?s wedding. He was the hit of the reception when he came up behind the groomsmen and said ?These are my boys from Irondequoit Dodge.? I remember the stories grandpa would tell of that damn fool dog ?Max? when they would cruise the town in the truck or when grandpa would take him to the cemetery to run. I remember grandpa and Max fighting over the fan in the garage during the summer months. I remember the last time I talked with grandpa. It was at Noyes Hospital, before they moved him to Mt. Morris. I remember we talked a lot about nothing, simply small talk. But I do remember him telling me how Dee Dee was in a new big shot job, how Linda was the assistant to the head honcho in Geneseo, how he worried about Marie and her foot, how dad had been helping out with grandma. I remember grandpa was a good honest hard working man. If you needed some help he would roll up his sleeves and be first in line to help. He was a man of few words; he did not talk to hear himself talk. Heck most of the time when you asked him a question he replied with a grunt. When he had something to say to you he said it whether you wanted to hear it or not, no sugar coating. You always knew where you stood with him, good or bad. I respected that about him. He will be missed. Thank you
- Thoughts from Ken Kline
Friday, Jan 9, 2009 at 11:59 AM EST
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KEITH R. KLINE SR. Known affectionately to many friends as BRO, BUCKY, KLINEY, KLINER, KEEFER and TEEFY. Known lovingly to his family as a HUSBAND, A FATHER, A DADDY, A GRANDPA, A BROTHER, A COUSIN, A UNCLE, A CORNERSTONE OF A FAMILY NAME. Grandpa lived a full life. He was raised working on a farm on Wrights Rd. He went to a school house down the road near Carney Hollow. He would often speak of these memories to me as we enjoyed a simple cigar in the garage that he built with his own hands on Hamilton St. Memories I felt humbled by and appreciative to that he would share these distant thoughts with me. Some of the experiences he shared seemed to me right out of a novel. Grandpa was born in a different time, an era that was a mystery in many of my thoughts. He would often tell many of the grandchildren when we would complain about trivial things about his struggles. We all heard about how he had to bathe in the stream that ran through the property. One we grandchildren could never really wrap our head around was how he had to walk to school, in all seasons, up hill, both ways. Sometimes the snow would be so deep that he would ski to school or ride the Belgian horse that they used on the farm. It wasn?t until I was older and was able to see the lay of the land between his house and the school that I figured out that he lived on a hill with a valley between his home and the school, another humbling simple experience, because it was really up hill both ways. My aunt Dee Dee explained to me that he used to have a pet woodchuck at that farm. He would bring the woodchuck inside by the wood fire during the winter months to warm it up out of its slumber as entertainment. We grandchildren all heard about how Grandpa used to race a car that looked just like the car ZZ Top had. Growing up on that farm he was required to think on his own and fix things himself. So it was no surprise that Grandpa became a certified GM mechanic. With that under his belt he went right to work for Gary?s Chevrolet in Dansville then to KG Richmond also in Dansville, Witts Chevy Pontiac Garage in Dansville, Vandegriff?s Ford in Wayland which went on to become McKelvey Ford. He would work on the Ford?s but he had no love for them, he was a GM man. I remember also how he explained to me that Ford created the disc brake system and how that was the absolute dumbest design he had ever seen. This was his belief because it was exposed to the weather more than the good old fashioned drum brake. He never developed an affinity for the disc brake. He worked most of my childhood though at Hober tire in Wayland. Hober tire was an enjoyable experience to many of the grandchildren because of the old glass bottle coke machine they had there, we always had to have one of them and if mom or dad didn?t get it for us, Grandpa would. Grandpa would come home from Hober?s and then tend to the Nursing Home with Grandma. This was a job all in itself, maintaining every aspect of a elderly persons life. He had numerous friends that he made along the way and it does us good to see some of you here today. As childhood progressed, us grandchildren were a common sight at Grandpa and Grandmas home on Hamilton St. It was the perfect location for Granparents. It was two blocks from Victory park where us boys played little league and Vince Lombardi football and where the girls played Cinderella softball. It was just a short distance from our school where we had a safe place to walk to or close enough for our grandparents to pick us up from school due to whatever ailment may have been plaguing us for that day. Grandpa and Grandma could always be relied upon to solve any situation in any of our families. One of the grandchildren miss the school bus? Either one of them would be there. One of the families cars broke down? Grandpa would fix it. Need a starting and finishing point for trick or treating? Grandpa and Grandma Kline?s house. Need a place to stay when your down on your luck? Grandpa and Grandma Kline?s house. I got a headache and Kerrie has a stomach bug and can?t stay in school another minute? Either one of them would be there. Need help fixing your roof? Grandpa was there and wasn?t afraid of heights. Need a lawmower? Grandpa?s got 3. Need a snowblower? Grandpa?s got 2. Need a quart of oil? Grandpa?s got some. Need a special wrench? Grandpa?s got it. Need a spanking machine? Grandpa can build one. Lock yourself in the bathroom as a child? Grandpa was there to get you out. Need a safe place to go? Go to Grandpa and Grandma?s house. Hungry? Grandpa and Grandma?s house. And you walk right inside, you don?t have to knock. It?s strange how things come to be. Anson owns a home that is on the original Kline farm land and I hunt the fields and hedge rows that Grandpa used to work. I am as close with my cousins as I am with my siblings and its all because of this wonderful environment. This was all made possible because of Grandpa and Grandma and the example they set. No one is perfect but the two of them were together for 60 years, 4 months and 2 days, always married, always loving, always reliable keeping the promise they made to each other. Thank you for that example. For the last eight or so years every time I would see Grandpa I would ask him, ?How are you doing Grandpa?? He would always say back to me, ?Just about.? I never asked him what that meant. I always wondered but I figured that Grandpa never said anything without meaning it. So I figured I would figure it out someday. I think I got it. I may not be right but I offer you what I think he may have meant. I think he meant that, My time here is ?Just about? through. And that thought has reminded me that any one of us may be ?just about? finished here on this earth. We should cherish and make the best of the time we have together, because when this day ends, we can not get it back. Oh how I want to sit quietly in the garage with Grandpa and hear the car horns from the little league game and Mrs. Kramer announcing it over the loud speakers, the chime from the Catholic church, the fire whistle, the phone ringing, children laughing and playing, pete the bird chirping, max, Grandpa?s dog getting excited to see you, smell Grandma?s cooking, hear Aunt Marie laugh, smell Grandpa?s cigar, see Grandpa extend his arms and affectionately say ?Kissy? to my cousin Christie or ?Sarah Bell? to my cousin Sarah or ?Lindy Loo? to my Aunt Linda, to listen to the kitchen window open as Grandma throws food waste down the specially made shoot Grandpa designed, see sawdust get put down on the garage floor from some oil that spilled from whatever car Grandpa just fixed, the sound of baseball cleats on the garage floor, the smell of fresh made Christmas cookies, listen to Uncle Mike?s jokes, the sound of my son and daughters footsteps and the smile on your face Grandpa. The smell of freshly mowed grass, the smell of fall, the smell of rain. The feeling of family. We miss you Grandpa.
- Keith R. Kline Sr., 80, passed away peacefully Friday (Jan. 2, 2009) at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville.
Keith was born March 13, 1928, in Richmond, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Hartman)Kline. On Aug. 31, 1948, Keith married Audrey Smith, who survives. Keith was employed at several auto dealerships as an auto mechanic over the past 40 years. In addition to his parents, Keith was predeceased by two brothers and two sisters, Claude Moose, Charles Kline, Thelma Robinson and Lorraine Harper.
Keith was a member of the Wayland-South Dansville Masonic Lodge and the Wayland United Methodist Church and was a past president of the Pleasant Valley Cemetery Association for many years.
Keith enjoyed hunting, fishing, carpentry and gardening, but most of all, he loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Keith is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Audrey; his children, Marie (Reed)Lemmon, Keith R. Kline Jr., Linda (Michael)Shepard and Andrea (Dee-Dee) Riley; grandchildren, Kurt (Julie)Kline, Kevin (Bonnie)Kline, Kenneth (Angela)Kline, Trisha (Gunther)Boekhoudt, Kristen (Kenneth)VanDame, Christi (David)Johnson Jr., Kerrie Weed (Shawn Moran), Anson Weed (Jennifer Wester), Christian and Emily Shepard, Joel and Katie Shepard, Sarah Whalen (Corey Toller) and Lisa and Anthony Mucerino; 14 great-grandchildren; one sister, June Milliman; two sisters-in-law, Eileen Kline and Norma Crane; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Friends may call from 2-4 and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday at the Walter E. Baird &Sons Funeral Home, 300 W. Naples St., Wayland, where funeral services will take place at 7:30 p.m. There will be a Masonic service at 6 p.m. Burial will be in Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Springwater.
Contributions may be made to the Wayland United Methodist Church, 3 East Ave., Wayland 14572 in memory of Keith R. Kline Sr. Those who wish to light a memory candle for Keith may do so at www.bairdfuneralhomes.com
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1928 - 2009 (80 years)
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