Stella Earlene Klein Obituary (1922 - 2017)

Stella Earlene Yardley was born in Bonham, Texas on March 15, 1922 to Charles Alvin Yardley and Birdie Lee Miller Yardley. Her older siblings were sister Lila Bell and brother Raymond and later she had a younger sister, Joy. When she was young the family owned a nearby grocery store and her dad loved to play dominoes with the adjacent store owner, so when she saw her dad playing dominoes she would sneak in the back door and get some candy. This began her lifelong love of chocolate! After graduation from high school, she moved to Dallas and attended Rutherford Business College. She met a soldier from Illinois, Gary R. Klein, and married him on May 28, 1943. She accompanied him when he was briefly stationed in Louisiana before he was sent overseas. Returning to Dallas, Stella embarked on a career of her own. She began to acquire some business savvy by working for a diversity of companies, including the Dallas Athletic Club, Southwestern Bell, Texas Power and Light and the Ford Motor Company. After Gary came home, he enrolled at SMU and earned a business degree. They had a son, Rick, and 2 years later a daughter, Rhonda. After the children were grown, she acquired her real estate broker's license and worked as a realtor for 16 years. Then, she decided to make a change and bought a health food store called Apples at 4622 Cole Ave in Dallas. She was involved in volunteer work in her church, the White Rock Republican Women's Club, P.E.O., Museum of Art League, the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum, and the North Dallas Area Women's Club. She received recognition as Chairman of the Cookbook Committee for the Dallas Arboretum resulting in the beautiful book, Garden Gourmet. She was a devoted wife to Gary for 63 years until his death on June 27, 2006. She will be dearly missed by her son, Rick (Terri), his children, Kelly Turner (Chris), Doug and Kristen Klein and their mother, Jeanne Ann Klein; daughter, Rhonda Suderman (Henry), their children, Sara Martin (Billy), Alan Suderman (Karen) and Gary Suderman. Stella's great grandchildren are Brooke and Reed Turner, Rebekah and Rachel Martin, Dean, Vera Stella and Sage Suderman. A Celebration of Life service will be held on July 1, 2017 at Rosemont, 6450 Kings Parkway, Humble, Texas 77346. Internment will be at a later date at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, joining Gary. Memorials may be made to the Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75228.