KLEIN, Lavern H.

Lavern H. Klein, 75 of Grand Island died Thursday, December 29, 2005, at Beverly Healthcare at Park Place in Grand Island. Memorial services will be at 10:00 A.M. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island, preceded by a family prayer service in the chapel of the church at 9:45 A.M. The Rev. Royce Rinehart will officiate. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park Cemetery. There will be no visitation. Cremation was provided through Westlawn Memorial Park Crematory. Mr. Klein was born December 29, 1930, at Scotia, NE to Herbert and Clara (Meier) Klein. Survivors of the immediate family include two sons and a daughter-in-law, David Klein of Kearney and Michael and Cathy Klein of Kearney; a brother and sister-in-law, Harlan and Irene Klein of Grand Island; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Marlene and Paul Penas of Hastings and Lois and Gene Haertling of Albuquerque, NM. Additional survivors include three grandchildren; three step-grandchildren and six step-great-grandchildren. Lavern grew up in Grand Island and attended Trinity Lutheran School. He moved to Rockford, IL to work and met Helen Bertram. He and Helen were married on August 25, 1956, at Rockford. They moved to Grand Island in 1960 and Lavern worked for Speltz-Schultz Lumber Co. and then for Ed Arnold Construction. He later worked as a custodian for Grand Island Schools and then Trinity Lutheran School. Mr. Klein was one of the first recipients of a prosthetic heart valve at Clarkson Hospital in 1970. The valve served him with minimal complications the remainder of his life. He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2002, and one sister, Lorraine Klein.