Obituary of Sara "Sally" Jane Klenk
Sara Jane Klenk, a longtime resident of Bridgeport, WV peacefully passed away surrounded by her husband and children on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at Elmcroft of Maplewood Retirement Community after a long illness at the age of 85.
Mrs. Klenk – Sally to her family and many friends, is survived by her husband of sixty-three years, William F. Klenk. They settled in Bridgeport twenty nine years ago and also lived there from 1975-1979. Sally and Bill had seven children; Katherine McGarey and her husband Michael of Annandale, VA, Drs. William A. Klenk and his wife Michelle of Fayetteville, WV, Karen Perry and her husband William of Barboursville, WV, Diane Barrick and her husband Jeffrey of Gahanna, OH, Robert Klenk and his wife Julie of Bridgeport, WV, Judith Toney and her husband Paul of McMinnville, TN and Sally Bisaha and her husband Gerald of Nolensville, TN; eighteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
After raising her own large family, she devoted her golden years to following and enriching the lives of her many grandchildren, visiting their homes, sending them birthday wishes and attending their baptisms, ballgames, graduations and weddings. She and her husband frequently joined large family treks to beaches along the Atlantic shores during the summer and hosted many boisterous holiday celebrations in their Ashford Drive home. A cherished tradition is the annual Klenk Family get-together in West Virginia’s Canaan Valley. Over the years, the reunion, organized by Mrs. Klenk, has grown to include more than three dozen of their direct descendants spread among three adjoining Timberline houses.
Mrs. Klenk was born June 2, 1933 in Crafton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of the late Adam J. and Sara Vater. Her parents founded the A.J. Vater Painting Company in Pittsburgh. She was preceded in death by her two brothers Norbert and Fred.
Upon graduation from Grove City College in 1955, Mrs. Klenk was married later that year and moved to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, while her husband served in the military. Her husband’s career in the steel and aluminum industries would involve seven more moves over the next three decades, between West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, until they settled in Bridgeport permanently in 1990.
Mrs. Klenk was active with All Saints Catholic Church, volunteered for the Community Christmas Dinner and the Shepherd’s Corner ministry which provides food and clothing to the needy. Other pursuits included Catholic Daughters, the Bridgeport Garden Club, Bridgeport Seniors and various bridge clubs. The Klenks moved to Maplewood in 2018. Her husband Bill would say, “She never uttered a bad word about anyone. Sally believed if you couldn’t say anything good about someone then don’t say anything. “
The family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made in Sally’s memory to All Saints Catholic Church, 317 East Main Street, Bridgeport, WV 26330, Catholic Daughters and Catholic Daughters of America, Court 334 at Sister Anne Francis Bartus C.S.J., 386 Varner Hollow Road, Salem, WV 26426.
Friends will be received at All Saints Catholic Church, 317 East Main Street, Bridgeport, WV on Sunday from 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM. The Vigil Rite will be held Sunday evening at 7:30 PM. Catholic Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated in church on Monday, June 3, 2019 at 10:00 AM with Reverend Father Benedict Kapa and Reverend Father Anthony Gargotta presiding. The interment will follow in the Bridgeport Cemetery, Bridgeport, WV. Condolences may be extended to the family at www.fordfuneralhomes.com. The Klenk family has entrusted the care and arrangements to the Ford Funeral Home, 215 East Main Street, Bridgeport, WV.
