Obituary of Richard Thomas Klang

Richard Thomas Klang, 65, was a man who loved Jesus Christ and trusted Him as Lord and Savior. Richard passed suddenly from this life to his heavenly home on August 21, 2017. Richard was born in Duluth, Minnesota on April 21, 1952 to Kurt and Eleanor Klang. He joined three older sisters and an older brother and, later, he and the family welcomed two younger sisters. Richard met the love of his life, Joanne Agostino, at the young age of 16. They married four years later on November 25th, 1972. Richard and Joanne enjoyed the deepest of loves. Together they lived grand adventures of trips to Boston, New York, England, Germany, France, and Italy. They logged many miles on the pavement together training for and running marathons and ultra-marathons. They made numerous trips to the Twin Cities to shop, visit favorite restaurants, and take in off-Broadway plays. And, more than any of these, they enjoyed just the day to day presence of one another and the comfort and peace that a lifetime of love affords. In 1974, Richard and Joanne were joined by their only child, Jessica. Richard created many special memories with Jessica. He was her first running partner, trained her for her only marathon, walked with her through pregnancies, and out-picked her every summer when they went to the strawberry patch and never let her forget it. Mostly, they enjoyed together his quick "pop-in" visits that happened a few times each week, when he would bring half a Coke for each of them and they would catch up on the big and small things of life. In 1996, Jessica married Erik Reinertsen and Richard and Joanne lovingly welcomed him into their little family. Richard enjoyed decades of watching Erik play basketball. He also enjoyed conversing with Erik about anything from sports to the kids to the Bible and, fairly often, giving Erik a hard time about whatever he could think of. Richard was very proud of and thankful for Erik. Richard was a servant. When he wasn't about his daily routines or gladly running errands for his wife or daughter, he was joyfully volunteering at the Salvation Army food shelf alongside his dear friend Kent Comnick, bringing food to or serving dinner at the Union Gospel Mission, or helping his church prepare for Sunday morning service. For many years, Richard cared for his aging mother and ailing sister with great love. Richard took a moment for himself each night with a trip to Starbucks where he would drink his coffee, read the paper, and chat with the staff or give a quick call to one of his special friends. Richard enjoyed long walks on the Boardwalk, often accompanied by his lifelong friend Mike Agostino, short walks with his dog, Riley, and any time he spent with his family. His greatest joy over the last nineteen years was his grandchildren. Richard grew up in a home that gathered for large Sunday dinners and evenings of playing cards. He and Joanne regularly joined Erik and Jess and the grandchildren for dinner and games. He attended the majority of their many, many sporting events near and far, established important pre-game rituals, and provided insightful post-game analysis. He cheered at races and applauded any and every achievement from cartwheels to quick wit to outstanding artistic expression. Richard loved well and was well loved. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Kurt and Eleanor Klang, and his sisters, Rita Marie Klang and Kate Klang Comnick and his special friend and brother-in-law, Tom Andrew. Richard will be deeply missed by his wife, Joanne, his daughter and son-in-law, Jessica and Erik Reinertsen, his grandchildren Eva, Sophia, Joshua, Ana, Selah, Moriah, Kate, and Laynie, his sisters Geraldine Olesiak, Donna (Sherwood) Elliott, and Patricia (Bill) K'Burg, his brother, Phillip (Libby) Klang, brother-in-law, Kent Comnick, and his sisters-in-law, Julianne (Roger) Hill, Jeanne Andrew, and Jodie (Larry) Rudd, brother-in-law, Michael (Mary) Agostino, and many nieces, nephews, and special friends. Visitation will be held from 10 am until the 11 am memorial service on Friday, August 25, 2017 at Bethany Baptist Church 6700 Grand Ave. Duluth, MN. Cremation Society of Minnesota 218-624-5200.