Former village clerk, devoted to Wheeling

Alberta Klocke and her husband, Edward, bought a home in Wheeling when it was just beginning to flourish in 1955.

In fact, Edward Klocke saw the house with his father while driving through town and bought it right then without telling his wife.

Mrs. Klocke loved her house, according to her children, and spent her 47 years in Wheeling giving back to the community that gave her a home.

"She just had so much to offer," said Sharon Klocke, one of Alberta's four children. "She did so much for the people and the children in the community."

Mrs. Klocke, 81, died this week in Lindenhurst, where she lived with her daughter Randy.

Besides being actively involved in her children's lives, Mrs. Klocke also served as Wheeling village clerk from 1977 to 1981.

Bill Hein, who was village president at the time, said Mrs. Klocke had no qualms about giving her opinion.

"She was a very outspoken person; she let everybody know her opinion," he said.

According to Randy, Klocke was so incensed when the village board was trying to fire the village manager that she stood up during a meeting to speak of her outrage.

Hein said he wanted Mrs. Klocke to run on his ticket for village clerk because she had a strong belief in laws and felt they should be the same for everybody, no matter their special interests.

For years, Mrs. Klocke was also known as "Mrs. Claus" in town. She and her husband played the Christmas couple for the Wheeling Historical Society's Lollipop Lane and then the village's Festival of Lights until 7½ years ago, when Edward passed away.

"They loved it," Sharon said. They also would visit patients at the hospital and one year visited a boy whose father had passed away, she said.

"This kid, when he saw Santa Claus coming up the stairs, it's a look that I have never ever seen," she said.

Mrs. Klocke also volunteered her time at Wheeling High School while her children were there, initially working with a band committee and then taking on a paid job in the office.

The band organization was where village Trustee Judy Abruscato met her. The two had been friends for more than 30 years.

"She got me interested in the village of Wheeling," Abruscato said. "She was just a good person and very committed to her community."

Mrs. Klocke even helped rebuild the high school's library when it burned down in a fire, Abruscato said.

Randy said her mother had the philosophy that if she was involved in her children's lives, they wouldn't get into trouble.

"And none of us got into trouble," she said. "She always made sure that we had fun and that we accomplished what we set out to do."

Daughter Sydney said her mother gave all the children a good, solid moral background.

"She certainly wanted us to be the very best we could be," she said.

Mrs. Klocke's son Dennis said at the funeral earlier this week, he had a chance to stand up and look around to see how many people his mother had affected in her life.

"I was totally blown away by the amount of people that were there and that lives that she affected, from the village, the high school, neighbors, the Historical Society, the Fourth of July committee," he said. "She was 'Rah, rah Wheeling;' she was the Wheeling cheerleader I would call her."

Besides her four children, Mrs. Klocke is survived by grandchildren Allison, Jonathan and Carolyn, and great-grandchild Dominic.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jerry's Kids, Muscular Dystrophy Association, P.O. Box 78960, Phoenix, AZ 85062-8960.