Enduring Love of the Blue Hills Inspired Romantic Courtship and Support for the Blue Hills
By Mary Ellen C. Welch
The late Rev. Dr. Theodore “Ted” Klein considered the Blue Hills an extremely fine and dear friend.
He left this life quite unexpectedly but also left his love for family, friends, and the Blue Hills very much alive and well. Reflecting his deep love of the Blue Hills, his family chose the Friends of the Blue Hills as the organization to support in his memory. Rev. Klein performed his ministry for nearly four decades and held a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He exuded an innate zeal for and was extraordinarily devoted to ethical action which was all-inclusive.
Dr. Kleins’ life’s work was dedicated to ethical behavior regarding nature, animals, and people. He knew the significance of cherishing our environment and how we are intensely linked to it. He taught people to respect and sustain the natural life surrounding us and used more than words to communicate his ideas. He was vigorously involved in numerous projects. So, one may wonder, when did he have time to become engrossed in the Blue Hills and how did it start?
“It was in the 1960s,” his wife of 52 years, Mary Kay Klein stated. “He was a graduate student at Boston University and he’d go to the Blue Hills to hike and climb rocks. We met at the end of 1966, and during the summer of 1967, I remember, we spent time in the Blue Hills hiking. He referred to the Blue Hills very lovingly.”
Mary Kay realizes how unique it was that the Blue Hills contributed to their courtship. “Very special!” she acknowledged.
“We moved in 1969 to Ohio, where we lived until 1985. By the time we came back to this area, we had three kids, one of whom could not walk very far, so hiking was not possible. But Ted always followed what was going on at the Blue Hills and maintained an interest.”
Mary Kay continued. “When we came back, every time we drove down around the Blue Hills, he’d start talking about how beautiful they were. He talked about the Observatory too. Then he discovered the Friends of the Blue Hills so we joined that.
We were thinking after he died—he was only ill for a few days—where do we want contributions to go? We knew he was really interested in the Blue Hills, nature, and animals. Our backyard is sort of a shrine to nature. He planted all kinds of things. We looked at the different organizations he belonged to and the consensus was that this was the right one to ask people to donate to (Friends of the Blue Hills).” “He talked about nature and environmental issues in his courses and he incorporated these topics into his services when he was Pastor. I think a lot of it has to do with awareness and how we are interconnected. We are not here to dominate the Earth. We’re part of the web.”
Concerning her husband’s short August hospital stay, Mary Kay imparted an exceptional detail. “He was at the Faulker Hospital up on the 7th floor, and we were talking about how, just out of the corner of the window where he was, you could see the Blue Hills. They were hard to see, but they were there and he was aware!”
Things unquestionably happen for a reason, don’t they?
“Yes, I think so,” agreed Mrs. Klein.
