Janet Klein remembered for preservation work, support of Temple University community

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Janet Klein, a philanthropist known for her work preserving local history and her longtime support of Temple University, died Aug. 4 at the age of 96, according to family members and colleagues.

At the Klein family home in Rydal, Montgomery County, daughter Ellen Klein reflected on the lives and legacies of her parents, Janet and Lew Klein.

Lew Klein was an American television executive credited with helping shape modern television news. He later became the namesake of Temple University's Lew Klein College of Media and Communication.

Janet Klein was known for her work with the Fairmount Park Commission and the Philadelphia Historical Commission. While supporting her husband's career, she also pursued her own interests and causes, her daughter said.

"On the one hand, she was devoted to my father and supported him in everything that he did, but she also had her passions," Ellen Klein said.

To Ellen Klein, however, they were simply her parents.

"She taught my brother and I piano. She gardened and taught us all the flowers, birds. She was really into nature," she said.

David Boardman, dean of Temple University's Klein College of Media and Communication, said Janet Klein played a significant role in supporting the institution and its students alongside her husband.

"Right along his side was Janet. She was always there, always here supporting our students," Boardman said.

After Lew Klein's death in 2019, Janet Klein remained active in the university community, Boardman said.

"We always had her as the final speaker in our graduation ceremony, and she would lead the students through the tassel turning," he said.

Temple University plans to honor both Lew and Janet Klein as the college continues construction of its new home on Broad Street. Plans include a tribute wall highlighting their contributions to Temple and the media industry. The university also plans to create a memorial garden in Janet Klein's honor outside the building.

For Ellen Klein, the planned tributes are a fitting recognition of her parents' impact.

"I know I said how intelligent she was," Ellen Klein said.

She said their influence will continue through the people and institutions they touched throughout their lives.

"Not everybody gets a chance to be immortal, but they did because of all the lives that they touched," Ellen Klein said.