Lois Darlene Burnet Kline

Lois was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on September 9, 1926, the daughter of George and Myrtle Violet (Hutchinson) Burnet IV. She was raised in Fort Dodge and graduated from Fort Dodge High School in 1944. A talented musician, she performed on the piano, cello and clarinet. During the WWII years, when men were in the military, she was one of the first two women to become members of the Fort Dodge Municipal Band directed by the famous composer, Karl King.

After completing a year at Fort Dodge Junior College, Lois enrolled at Iowa State College, earning a degree in Textiles and Clothing in 1948. While at Iowa State, she continued her interest in music performing with both the concert and marching bands. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and, in 1944, was selected as a College Veishea Festival Queen. Following graduation, she accepted a position as Home Economist in Omaha, Nebraska with Omaha Gas and Electric Company where her duties included lecture demonstrations, publications and telecasts in the very early years of television.

While in Omaha, she met Keith Lawrence Kline while both were attending the same Methodist church. They later married and moved to Rogers Park, Illinois where they established and successfully operated Kline’s Printing and Mailing Service for the next 50 years. After moving to Evanston Lois became a long-time member of the Northwestern University Guild, for which she served as Corresponding Secretary. Lois was very active in the handbell choir at the First Presbyterian Church. She volunteered for many years at the Presbyterian Home where she often played piano for the residents. Lois had passion for her hobbies, including gardening, art and music. During their marriage, Lois and Keith traveled to many beautiful and exotic parts of the world, often in the company of her siblings and their spouses.

Lois is survived by her six nieces and two nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Keith in 2010; her parents and two sisters, Doris Onalee Pierce in 2006 and Una Violet Ladd in 2013, her brother, George Burnet V in 2023, and two nieces. The families of Lois and Keith wish to express the deepest appreciation to Michael Siasoyco for his years as devoted caregiver to first Keith and then Lois.