Fred Charles Kleine, Jr. was born Nov. 23, 1947, in Fairmont, Minn., to Fred and Etta (Hellyer) Kleine. He graduated from Ceylon High School in 1966 and attended Southwest Minnesota Vocational School. Fred served our country honorably in the U.S. Army. He married Kathryn Smith on Feb. 28, 1970, at the Methodist Church in Mankato. Fred was a member of IBEW local 160 and worked as a lineman in the electric power industry, working for Midland Construction, United Power Association, and then many years at Donavan Construction as lineman foreman until his retirement. Fred was also a member of the Becker American Legion Post 193. He looked forward to daily coffee and lunch get-togethers with the guys. It wasn’t uncommon to see him driving around town visiting folks or just stopping in at the hardware store to say hello. Yearly, between late summer and early fall, Fred would make several trips north preparing for deer hunting up by Orr to “The Shack,” something he looked forward to every season. Fred loved his dogs and one in particular, Sammy, where he would commonly be accompanied by her, even at personal gatherings. Fred was a people person who was always willing to lend a hand, helping friends with projects and chores, also gladly helping fellow veterans to appointments. He was proud of his career as a lineman and had many stories of the places he had been and the many coworkers and friends he made in the industry that he had looked at as family. Fred loved his wife, children and grandchildren and was proud of them all. Fred will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Survivors include his wife, Kathryn of Becker; children, Carmel of Eagle Lake, Daniel of Shakopee, Matt of Sauk Rapids; grandchildren, Alexis and Brayden Kleine, and Adam and Alex Hobbs; mother-in-law, Geraldine Smith; sisters-in-law, Yvonne Smith and Peggy (Ken) Laubenthal; brother-in-law, Ray Worden; other relatives and friends. Fred was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Karla Worden and Bonnie (Alvin) Dalen; half-sister, Alice Swanger; father-in-law, Douglas Smith; and brother-in-law, Perry Smith. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Becker Food Shelf or the donor’s choice of organizations. Obituary, guest book and video tribute are available online at www.williamsdingmann.com

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