Obituary of Estelle Ruth Klein

Estelle Ruth Klein, 86 of Hopatcong, NJ passed away peacefully at her home on July 1, 2020 surrounded by her loving family. She was born October 2, 1933 in Manhattan, NY. Estelle is the beloved only child to parents Estelle Ruth (nee Kyle) and George Jay McElwee, Estelle attended George Washington High School in New York City and went on to Katherine Gibbs secretarial school, graduating in 1954. In 1955 Estelle joined BBDO Ad Agency and worked there until 1958 when she left to marry Robert B. Klein, a BBDO coworker. They made their year-round home in Hopatcong, NJ, in the lake house Robert had spent his summers at since childhood. Estelle quickly made lifelong friends when joining the Women's Club, skiing at Great Gorge and sailing around the lake. But her greatest love was animals and she was the founder of the Hopatcong Animal Haven which found homes for hundreds of dogs and cats during its decade's long operation. 1963 brought the arrival of Estelle and Robert's only child, Janet Lynn (Klein) Wittenmeier. Always up for adventure, the family enjoyed traveling around the world as well as local outings, such as the Great Adventure Safari where Estelle would roll down the car windows to feed the giraffes by hand! In the 1980's Estelle turned her attention to real estate and had a successful run for 25+ years, specializing in lakefront homes. Politics was another passion and Estelle served multiple terms as a Hopatcong Councilwoman. Although a native New Yorker, Estelle embraced Hopatcong as her own and was proud to call it home for the last 62 years. Estelle is survived by her husband, Robert Klein, her daughter, Janet Wittenmeier, her son-in-law, Greg, her cherished grandchildren, Ande and Jack and her faithful canine companion, Scooter. In light of the current pandemic, a celebration of Estelle's life will be held at a later date. It's our family's hope that the many people who filled her life with love and laughter will join us then for a party worthy of her. She was truly one in a million and there's nothing Estelle loved more than being surrounded by those she loved.