Obituary of Eunice Klement

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mom, Eunice Klement (87) on January 17, 2023, due to complications from a fall. Preceded by her husband, Edwin Klement (d. July 11, 1992), and grandson, Ryan Derald Rutherford (d. April 3, 1987), she was a longtime resident of Monterey, CA before moving to Tampa, FL in 1997. Eunice was born on a farm in Waldheim, SK, Canada. She learned early on that if she practiced her piano everyday, she wouldn’t have to do farm chores. The farm life was not for her, so she became a wonderful pianist as a result. At 18, when she took a train to Vancouver, BC, she saw her first mountains and ocean. She then ventured to San Jose, CA, to visit her aunt, where she fell in love with the weather and the beautiful bougainvillea that seemed to grow everywhere. On a Greyhound bus going back to Canada, she met an American soldier who was going to his home in Washington. After chatting and getting to know each other, then sending telegrams and letters, they eventually were married in November of 1958 in Waldheim and spent their newlywed years in Monterey. She returned to Waldheim when he was assigned to Korea; Edwin met his firstborn daughter when she was 9 months old. He soon got stationed in Ft Lawton, OK, where a son was born. While stationed in Germany, Eunice, with 2 children under 2, took a ship to be with her husband. Another daughter joined them and they then returned to the States before he was sent to Vietnam. After returning to the States due to an injury, Edwin retired and they made their home in beautiful Monterey, where Eunice became an American citizen and had their 4th child, a daughter. Eunice was a piano teacher and taught piano throughout the 1970s. She loved all the old hymns and played piano or organ for all the cantatas and choirs at the churches that she attended. For a time she even owned a music store. She worked for the Naval Postgraduate School for 15 years before retiring and moving to Tampa, FL. An avid bowler, she bowled on 2 leagues with a 13 pound ball up until late 2018. She was also always busy with her hands, crocheting, knitting, petit point or making dolls. She left beautiful works of art that will be cherished forever. She loved to travel, visiting her daughters wherever they lived or were stationed, whether it was Europe or Japan, or even Stateside. She always had wonderful stories to bring home, like camping on the Italian Riviera, or the “cups” of coffee served in Europe. She is survived by her sisters, Lorna Simpson and Lyla Hulan, her sisters in-law Nona Klement, Alice Smith, and Helen Stratton, children Victoria Ferring, Michael Klement, Tammy Rutherford (Derald), and Annemarie Scolari (Mitchell), 5 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, all who will miss her dearly. A private funeral service will be held at Mission Memorial Park in Seaside, CA.