(1929-2017)

Sister Nelda Ann Klein, known also as Sister Ellen Dolores, was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 3, 1929. She was the third of four children born to William and Nell (Smith) Klein. 

Her father was born in Pennsylvania to Lutheran parents who were second-generation German-Americans. When his mother died, the family moved to Kingman, Arizona, where he eventually met Nelda’s mother, Nell Smith. Nell’s father, Anson Smith, was one of the founders of Kingman, Arizona.

In her autobiography, Sister Nelda shared these memories of her youth.

I grew up in the small town of Kingman, surrounded by an older brother and sister, Bill Jr. and Mary Alice, and a younger brother, Anson. [In addition, I had] eleven sets of aunts and uncles and many cousins. It was a good time to grow up. We young people used to joke that we were related to half the population and knew the other half, so little supervision was necessary. Before I got home in late afternoon, my parents knew every place I had been and all I had done!

Read more about Sister Nelda Ann (pdf)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.

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