She came to campus from Birmingham Seaholm High School near Detroit. She dove with gusto into Princeton’s academics, theatrics, carrels at Firestone Library, Elm Club where she was president, 35 University Place, Triangle Club, Woodrow Wilson School, and — most of all — being a devoted friend to many. Patty was passionate about her midwestern soda pop, Thomas Sweet ice cream, and Barbra Streisand.
After Princeton, Patty earned an MBA at Harvard Business School. She then worked at McKinsey, Bain, and F&M Distributors as vice president of marketing. In 1993 she founded Travel Education Institute, a chain of schools that trained individuals for careers in the travel industry. In 1997 she founded A-Plus Meetings and Incentives, which she and her beloved husband, Jay Klein, grew into a $25 million meeting-services company serving Fortune 500 companies. Patty and Jay lived in Miami Beach and traveled to more than 90 countries.
Patty fought her cancer for eight years with characteristic tenacity and good humor. She and Jay endowed the Patty Klein Ovarian Cancer Research Fund to support research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Patty is survived by Jay, sisters Linda and Sara, brother Bruce, and their families. We will never forget Patty and the way she lit up our campus, every gathering of friends, and the lives of all who knew her.