Flo Klein, friend to Calabasas and beloved member of the community, dies at 93




Florence 'Flo' Klein

Florence ‘Flo’ Klein


The city of Calabasas was sad to learn about the death Monday of Florence Klein, a resident who lived here for more than 30 years and a light that shined brightly on the community.

‘Flo’ Klein was 93 when she died at Encino Hospital.

“She loved Calabasas and loved the people,” said her daughter, Joyce Rhoads of Los Angeles. “She totally had an opinion on everything.”

Klein volunteered to become the official Calabasas historian in 1992 and kept detailed articles, records and photographs that filled more than 40 bound notebooks. She also was a member of the Calabasas Historical Society and served as a staunch advocate for the elderly.

The late Lesley Devine, a mayor and longtime City Council member, said Klein gave the city its “living history.”

Klein came from Cleveland, Ohio and worked as a secretary for the Royal Typewriter company. Always a giver, she organized Fourth of July parades in her neighborhood and helped bring communities together.

“She was a very giving and loving person. She was also a poet,” said Arlene Bernholtz, a friend.

Klein brought her vivaciousness to Calabasas, where she made friends by the score and continued her love of reading and writing poetry. Klein was the editor of a newsletter for Calabasas Village Mobile Estates on Mulholland Highway, where she lived. She and her late husband also enjoyed square dancing.

“I always knew her as somebody who was cheerful and knew everybody by name,” said Carol Washburn, chief executive of the Calabasas Chamber of Commerce.

Klein also helped introduce Dial-A-Ride and other public transportation services to assist the city’s elderly and disabled.

In 2003, Calabasas officials honored Klein for her many years of public service and announced that a wing of the new public library to be built at The Commons would be named after her.

Klein is survived by Rhoads, her daughter; Marc Klein, her son; and Marvin Ballen, her brother. She also leaves four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Fri., Nov. 17 at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills.

Rhoads said her mother requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Senior Department of the West Valley Jewish Community Center in West Hills. For information, please call Verna Fish, the center’s membership director, at (818) 464-3267.

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