| William “Roland” Klein passed away on June 20, 2026 at the age of 88. He was preceded in death by his parents, Frieda and William (Willie) Klein. Roland is survived by his brother Gerald (Gloria) Klein, niece Michelle (Dave) Clenin, nephew Brian (Sandy) Klein, three great nieces – Taylor Clenin, Maggie Klein, and Katie Klein – great nephew Joshua (Olivia) Clenin, great great niece “Emmy”, and many friends. Roland was a Parkway West High School history teacher for 30+ years. He was known by his students as “Mister B+”. Roland loved to travel and spent many of his summers traveling the USA and visiting many countries.A visitation will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, 1210 Locust St., St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 1 pm, followed by a memorial service and internment of his ashes at the church at 2 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to Christ Church Cathedral would be greatly appreciated. Kutis South County Service. |
One of the great teachers of all time. I was in his first class back in 1962 (English/History) and remained friends with him for decades. Few teachers leave a more lasting impression on their students than Roland. A great teacher, a great guy, a good friend. Sorely missed.
My favorite teacher, bar none. His enthusiasm for teaching history is responsible for my becoming a History major. None of my college professors were his equal.
I don’t know a student who didn’t adore him. I certainly did.
Rest easy, Mr Klein. You’ve earned it.
I was quite saddened to learn of his passing, he was one of my very early educational mentors. He incentivized me to pursue history as a discipline in life. Mr. Klein was a true leader and artist at his craft. Perhaps others will emulate his outstanding Socratic teaching style, although unlikely it will ever be surpassed. You have left an enduring and most honorable legacy , Mr. Klein. 👓 📖
Mr. Klein not only gave me an appreciation of history, but also an appreciation of art. He awakened a love of the world in all of his students. And those weekly news week, magazine test, especially during the era of Watergate, instilled in me a need to understand what was happening in the world around me. He taught us both past and present are important to understand the world. Both my brother and I considered Mr. Klein one of the best teachers we ever had. Rest in peace sir. PWHS ‘76
I taught German at Parkway West during the 1970’s. I loved having Roland Klein as a colleague. We spoke German with each other as time permitted and enjoyed talking about our respective trips to Europe.
It was my good fortune to have Mr. Klein as my 9th grade Civics teacher at Parkway Central Junior High in 1962-63, which I think was his first year in the district. He was one of the best teachers I ever had, in high school or college. He challenged us all to be better than we thought we could be. I still clearly remember some of his classes and the concepts he taught. And he had a great laugh – I can still hear it! I can’t think of another teacher whose laugh I can remember. He simply loved what he did. What a gift he was to his students.