Featured in: May 2018

KLEIN 60th

Darrell and Narlita (Nieman) Klein are celebrating 60 years of marriage.

They met one summer day in 1956 at the Youth Center in College Place, Wash., and were married at the Greenlake Church on Nov. 9, 1957.

Darrell went to work for the Vernon Robison ranch near Walla Walla until their first daughter, Julie, was born. Then they moved to Lebanon, Ore., to work at the Wah Chang Corporation and later at the Willamette National Plywood mill.

With the additions of two little girls, Connie and Diane, they moved to Lewiston, Idaho, for a short while and then moved to Spokane, Wash., to work for Hylond Inn for a couple of years. Then they transferred to Shelton, Wash., where both Darrell and Narlita managed the Hylond Inn Retirement Home there.

They spent 14 years in Shelton while Narlita managed a GNC store in Aberdeen, Wash.

An opportunity came up to manage the San Marcos Apartments for Wells & Co. in Spokane, where Darrell managed 180 apartments. Narlita continued being manager of the GNC store at the Franklin Mall and retired after 25 years with that company. Later Darrell worked 10 years for Laidlaw School Bus Transit.

From 1987 to 2014, Darrell was the Santa Claus at the Valley Mall and later for the North Town Mall, also in Spokane.

In his retirement, Darrell enjoys making wooden projects on the lathe and is an avid collector of Western memorabilia. Narlita volunteered four years at the Better Living Center and enjoys cooking. Besides their three daughters, they also have 9 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.