Obituary of Frederick K. Kleen III

Frederick K. Kleen III passed away peacefully surrounded by family on October 20, 2022 at home in Parsippany.

Frederick was born in Jersey City, NJ, to the late Frederick K. Kleen, Jr. and Jacqueline R. Delmais.  He grew up in rural Warren County with his four siblings.  He fished the many rivers there with his brother, Greg.  After graduation from Warren Hills High School, he went to Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ, where he obtained a B.S. in Accounting.  His career began as a Tax Accountant at Foster Wheeler in Livingston, NJ.  He went on to work at AT&T and FL Industries before deciding the corporate world wasn’t for him.  He had an avid interest in finance and decided to become self-employed as a private investor.  He handled finances for many family members.  Many will live on to say how smart, generous and kind Fred was.  It was at Foster Wheeler where Fred met Virginia De Lalla and as they say, “the rest is history!” The couple married at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mt. Lakes on May 24, 1981.  In 1983 they found their forever home in Parsippany.  Although Fred was always a hard worker, he made time for tennis and baseball, the sports he loved.  He and Ginny had standing tennis matches every week with dear friends.  The love of tennis took them to Australia, England, France and, of course, the USA, to attend the 4 major tournament events.  His favorite baseball team was the San Francisco Giants and so many times through the years, he traveled to San Francisco to cheer them on.

His interest in travel was cultivated by his parents who took him at an early age to France to visit with his mother’s family and travel to neighboring countries.  He wanted to show Ginny the world, so they traveled extensively to Europe as well as South America and Australia.  His desire to visit Asia was never met due to illness.

Besides travel he loved to attend the theater in NYC and dine at restaurants.  He supported the arts by attending the NJ Shakespeare Theater and numerous concerts and shows at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ.

He was an avid reader and loved to have a good laugh.  He was a devoted fan of Jerry Seinfeld and right up to his passing, he watched the 11PM repeats of his show.

Besides the love he displayed to Ginny, he loved all the dogs he had in his life, which until his death, were six.  Just like children, he wouldn’t declare a favorite.

Fred’s memory lives on through his wife of 41 years, Virginia “Ginny” De Lalla, his loving siblings, Jeannette (Barry Smith) of Easton, Pa., Gregory (Susanne) Kleen of Saugerties, NY, Lorraine Ferry of High Bridge, NJ and Joyce Kleen (Jerry Smith) of Crystal River, FL, his caring nephews, Timothy Kleen, Sean Ferry and Daniel Ferry, his dear cousin Ellen Flynn and family of PA and many more extended family members.  He was pre-deceased by his nephews, David Kleen, Matthew Ferry and brother-in-law, Stephen Ferry.

A Mass of Celebration will be held at St. Catherine of Siena, 10 N. Pocono Road, Mt. Lakes, NJ, on November 15th at 10:30AM. There will be a visitation with his wife and family prior to Mass from 9:15AM to 10:15AM at the church to remember the precious life and spirit of our beloved Frederick. Burial will follow at Denville Cemetery.
 
Memorial Donations are being accepted in Fred’s memory to St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center by way of www.inmemof.org to ensure receipt of your donation. This charity is near and dear to his heart because Fred loved dogs and would help them any way possible. Please light a candle, leave a condolence, or share your favorite memory of Fred here to continue to celebrate the incredible life he bestowed upon us.