Richmond, Va.—Beatrice Klein, 94, of Richmond, beloved mother, grandmother and artist, died Sept. 10, 2014, of old age.
Bea was born to the late Samuel A. and Jennie Oppleman Temko, Feb. 7, 1920 in Lynchburg, Va.
She married Dr. Arthur Klein in 1943, in Richmond and they lived happily together in the Richmond’s West End until his death in 1998. They were lifelong members of Congregation Beth Ahabah.
Bea began drawing and painting during her childhood in Rocky Mount, N.C. and pursued this lifelong passion until just a few years prior to her death. As a young woman, she attended Maryland Institute of Art (now MICA) and the Art Students League in New York, where she studied under Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Bea taught painting and drawing to others, but never stopped being a student herself, seeking always to develop her skills with classes at the Hans Hofmann School in Provincetown, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Museum School. She was a founding member of the Richmond Artists Association. She exhibited widely in juried and solo shows and her works were acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, area corporations and individual collectors. Her forte was portraits and she was commissioned to paint many community leaders, private individuals and their families.
She was also an enthusiastic world traveler, Bridge player, birder and walker.
Bea is survived by her children, Jane Klein Goldman (Ronald Dyer) and Richard Klein (Ronnie Klein); her grandchildren, Anna Goldman (Samuel Gershman), Michael Klein (Victoria Cespedes), Kathryn Klein (Yoav Hagler) and Douglas Klein (Kristin Slayback); her four great-grandchildren, Alexander and Javier Klein, and Alice and Eloise Hagler; and her brother and sister-in-law, Philip and Judy Temko.
Burial was private. A gathering of friends and a memorial service took place in the Fellowship Hall of the Hermitage at Cedarfield. Memorial contributions to the Congregation Beth Ahabah Museum and Archive, the ALS Association (DC/MD/VA Chapter), or a charity of one’s choice.