Shirley Bockall Klass
SALT LAKE CITY
- 12/9/1924 - 02/16-2024 Shirley Bockall Klass was born in Detroit, MI, to Alexander and Isabelle (nee Lezin), who had arrived two decades prior from a village in Ukraine. Shirley and her sisters, Reva (Dozier) and Helen (Glassman), moved to west Los Angeles, where Shirley lived for four decades. She remembers roller skating, the beach, reading at the public library, summer concerts at Hollywood Bowl, and frequent family gatherings featuring her mom’s brothers and sisters whom she adored. Upon graduation from Dorsey High, she worked downtown as a bookkeeper and enjoyed socializing with her girlfriends. Requiring referrals from a Jewish agency to maintain employment, Shirley developed a penchant for social justice, one time increasing the paychecks of a group of garment workers to ensure fair pay for their labor without telling her boss.
At a house party for progressive college students, Shirley met a handsome “nice Jewish boy,” Morris Klass, who was pursuing a master’s degree and shared her values: they referred to themselves as secular humanist Jews. Morry proposed during an offseason ski chairlift ride and they honeymooned in Mexico, where they had dinner with blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Shirley and Morry began raising their two sons, Steven (Tantalisa Clayton) and Daniel, in North Hollywood, and she worked part time and started college. Upon Morry earning a Doctorate in Social Work, the family moved to Fresno, CA, where Shirley joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and supported conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. The family then moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Shirley was able to complete her undergraduate studies with a B.S. in University Studies in Women’s Studies and contributed to establishing the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Utah. She obtained her Masters focused on the new field of Geriatrics. They established the Newcomers Supper Club at the Jewish Community Center, forming several friendships that lasted the rest of her life. Shirley and Morry arrived in Memphis, TN, the day Elvis Pressley died in 1977, where Shirley lived for 40 years. She and Morry enjoyed community theater, classical music, and collecting ceramics. She served as Community Support Supervisor at Northwest Mental Health, mentoring younger practitioners, and was active in the American Association of University Women.
About a decade after Morry’s passing Shirley moved back to Salt Lake City. She greatly enjoyed her meal buddies’ group and friendly care staff at The Ridge Foothill Assisted Living, delighting all with her supportive attitude, humor, and colorful use of Yiddish expressions. When asked how she lived so long, she said “a California orange and glass of wine every day.” She loved bagels and lox and lambchops, which were featured at her recent 99th birthday dinner. She believed in learning and science, participating in the longitudinal Nurses’ Health Study, receiving a heart valve and pacemaker in her 90’s,and donating her body to the University of Utah Medical School. Shirley is survived by her two sons, daughter-in-law, and several loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. In lieu of flowers, Shirley encourages you to donate your time and money to organizations focusing on improving life for the less fortunate, promoting social justice, and advancing women.