Remembering Jeff Klein ’09
It is with sadness that I report that Jeff Klein ’09 died this past Tuesday in Bear Mountain, New York near his hometown of Chappaqua. At Middlebury, many remember Jeff as living and breathing sports, particularly basketball. He was also as active as Middlebury students come in the classroom and outside of it. He was a Sports Editor and columnist at The Campus, penning the popular column “J.K. Rollin.” Jeff was a History major who completed his honors thesis on “The Ghetto Riots and Black Power Movement in 1960s America.” He graduated Magna Cum Laude in May 2009. After graduating, Jeff continued his passion for sports opinion and journalism with his blog titled simply, “Talkin’ Sports.” He was applying to law school after taking the LSATs and worked as a paralegal. Jeff was 23.
Some of his friends have graciously shared memories of Jeff with us. Here are a few excerpts:
Hussein Alramini ’09:
One night, during my sophomore year, I was walking to the Grille with my girlfriend at the time when we heard footsteps closing in on us from behind. We turned around and saw a guy carrying a snow shovel. He jokingly raised it and for a second gave us a scare, but for the rest of the night we laughed about it. For two years I knew him as “the shovel guy” and would laugh every time I remembered that night. But it wasn’t until senior year that I became friends with him. It was during that year that I realized what a nice person Jeff was. His sense of humor, above all, is what made him stand out for me. Jeff was on a mission to instill laughter in the life of those around him. For the rest of my life I will have a memory of him that will put a smile on my face. Thank you Jeff and rest in peace my friend.
Mohammed Almzayyen ’09:
…I’m pretty sure he didn’t miss a single college basketball game, even the trivial ones. I remember having three hour long dinners with him in Atwater dining hall and talking about politics, sports etc. Jeff was very outgoing and he genuinely loved his friends and Middlebury. He left us too early.
Logan Rutheford ’09:
Jeff and I lived next door to one another our senior year; I hadn’t met him before then. As my mother and I were moving in just before school began, Jeff came over to introduce himself. He was just so friendly; as he left the room, my mom said: “He’s a nice boy. You should be friends with him.” Over that next year we ate lunch and dinner together frequently. That friendly first impression turned out to be very accurate; Jeff was always nice to me and everyone I was around.
One funny memory occurred on the night of November 4, 2008. Jeff had been watching the election coverage somewhere else, and he came back into the dorm hooting and hollering because he was so excited about President Obama’s victory. He could hardly contain himself.
