Rosa Lee “Rosie” Strange Klein 1942-2026
Rosie Klein celebrated life.
Born Rosa Lee Strange on August 16, 1942, in Hereford, Texas, she traveled extensively in her 83 years but most treasured home, family, and good friends. She made friends easily with her contagious smile, outgoing nature, and generosity of spirit—even with people waiting next to her at checkout.
She was thoughtful in things both large and small, remembering others’ special days, often forgotten by most everyone else. She loved sending and receiving “treats”—beautiful cards, gifts, flowers, photos. Her arrival at any event drew attention, not only because she was usually the most physically beautiful woman there but because inner beauty radiated from her. People around her sensed that the fun barometer was about to rise.
These traits served her well in a varied career. After graduation from Hereford High School, Rosie attended by the University of Texas in Austin (a lifelong Longhorn fan) and West Texas State University, where she graduated. She married AT Griffin in 1961, and when they returned to Hereford, she once again worked as secretary at Griffin and Brand Sales Agency, not only in Hereford but with yearly stints for the next 11 years in McAllen, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Caldwell, Idaho, and Rocky Ford, Colorado, as she and eventually their two daughters followed vegetable harvests. In 1980, Rosie became co-owner with brother Robert Strange of The Sports Stop on Hereford’s Main Steet, closing in 1986.
Civic organizations profited from Rosie’s leadership and managerial skills. She served on the boards of the Deaf Smith County Chamber of Commerce and Hereford Country Club. She was a Camp Fire Girls leader for 17 years, shepherding a majority of the 16 members to receive the Wo-He-Lo Medallion, Camp Fire’s highest award. Rosie helped establish Reading Is Fundamental in Hereford schools and was an active member of the First Baptist Church and L’Allegra Study Club and Hereford Music Study Club.
She became an American Airlines flight attendant, the cheerful, helpful type one hopes for, working domestic and international flights until retirement in 2005. In 1992, Rosie moved to Las Cruces to become the wife of Sonny Klein, the love of her life, who introduced her to a new way to travel as they rode highways and byways with fellow motorcycle enthusiasts. She became an avid New Mexico Aggies fan, present, along with Sonny, at men’s football and basketball games and women’s sports. She was a devoted supporter of the Gospel Rescue Mission. Rosie never tired of the play of light on the Organ Mountains from her bench on their front patio.
Rosie went to be with Jesus on July 8 after a prolonged illness and fall. She is survived by her husband, Sonny Klein, and two beloved daughters, Jennifer of Canyon Lake, Texas, married to Kenny Griffith, and Amy of Dallas, Texas, married to Jim Douthitt, as well as nine adoring grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. With her marriage to Sonny, she became stepmother to David Klein of San Francisco, California, Lisa Perlmutter and husband, Jay, of Englewood, Colorado, and Ronnie Klein and wife, Debbie, of St. Petersburg, Florida, as well as 15 grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Many nieces and nephews mourn her passage—simply saying “Aunt Rosie” brings a smile to their faces.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Mabel Strange, brothers Rayburn and Robert Strange, sister Mary Ruth Hamilton, and stepson Scott Klein. Two siblings survive her: Nona Marie (Ree) Sheck of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Virgil Strange of Denton, Texas, and his wife, Carmen, as well as sisters-in-law Vetha Strange of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Bobbie King of Hereford, Texas.
Rosie’s family thanks the staff at Heritage Assisted Living and High Desert Hospice for their loving care of her and their kind attention to family members.
The family suggests that donations in Rosie Klein’s memory be sent to the Gospel Rescue Mission in Las Cruces (lcgrm. org) or the Curt Thomas Sheck Foundation and its community library in Colonia de Guayabo, Costa Rica, which Rosie helped establish (www.curtsheckfoundation. org).
A celebration of Rosie’s life begins with visitation at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, July 16, at Getz Funeral Home in Las Cruces, with services at 10:30.