James Tew Klein

James T. Klein 71, of Chester County, died on May 4, 2014 at his farm, after a long illness. He was the husband of Gwen Kelly Klein. Born in Cincinnati OH on March 22, 1943, he was a son of the late Philip C. and Jean (Eisenbrown) Klein. He was a retired independent financial advisor, having headed The Klein Group, LLC.

Jim grew up in a large, rambunctious and athletic Wyomissing family. He played every playground and organized sport possible while going through the Wyomissing school system, and was fortunate to have been on record-setting teams during that time. He earned twelve letters in high school and remained good friends with many of his teammates his entire life.

In the last several years, Jim was inaugurated into both the Berks County Coaches Hall of Fame and the Wyomissing Football Hall of Fame. Jim called these events his "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" and had T-shirts made for all of the friends he could persuade to attend each event.

He continued to play football and basketball on winning teams at Colgate University (B.A. Class of 1965). He was a member of the Senior Honor Society, the Maroon Key, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. While at Colgate, Jim made friends with men who together formed a web of connections they maintained their entire lives, and who greatly supported him during his final illness.

Upon graduation he was invited to try out with the NY Jets, played an exhibition season, and thereby fulfilled a dream of every small-town boy.

Jim served as a much decorated First Lieutenant in the United States Army, Second Brigade, Ninth Infantry Division. He served from 1965 to 1968, including a tour of duty in Vietnam where he served as a platoon leader. Jim always felt honored to have served his country, and grateful he survived.

In 1968, Jim attended the Marshall School of Business at USC (M.B.A. Class of 1970), where he met his future wife, Gwen, and was instantly smitten. He remained smitten the rest of his life. They married in 1970 and moved to NYC where Jim began his banking career with Citicorp. During the next 25 years, he worked also for National Westminster, American Bank and Trust, The Knoblauch Private Bank, and Security First Bank. He served as president of the last two organizations. During that period he also consulted for Main Street Bank, Sovereign Bancorp, and Source Capital, LLC. He retired from banking in 1995 to work as an independent financial advisor.

Jim was a member of the Board of Directors of South Mountain YMCA for 30 years, and also served as its president. He had been a camper and counselor there, his father served on the board before him, and his grandfather played a role in establishing the equestrian program. For the last decade, Jim was also a board member of the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. He chaired and was a member of several committees, creating awareness and raising money to preserve the Chester County countryside he loved, while enjoying the camaraderie of his friends and neighbors in the Trust.

His farm neighbors knew him as "The Bluebird Man." He trudged over his and adjoining fields in bulging cargo shorts and outsized hat carrying a clipboard and wasp spray, making weekly checks on his string of bluebird houses. He was able to develop a large population of endangered birds locally, where there had been none before. This small twenty-year project was a source of quiet happiness to him.

In addition to his wife of 43 years, Jim is survived by his siblings, Philip, Lucy (Guthrie) and Tom. He was predeceased by his brother John. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. In addition, he leaves behind a host of wonderful friends who helped make his life rewarding and a great joy.

Services will be at Christ Episcopal Church, Pottstown, at 2:30 pm on Saturday May 10. Burial in Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, will be private.

Contributions in lieu of flowers should be made to the charity of the donor's choice, or even better, to one of Jim's choosing. Any donations should mention Jim's name.

French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust www.frenchandpickering.org

Camp Conrad Weiser www.smymca.org

Cornell Lab of Ornithology www.birds.cornell.edu

Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home, Inc., West Reading is in charge of arrangements.