87-year-old woman has simple solution to those seeking success

I don’t run across many 87-year-old women who still work by choice, so yes, Freda Klein is just as inspiring as her admiring neighbor claimed. No false advertising there.

Freda works part time now, but throughout her career in Las Vegas, she juggled marriage, motherhood, career and, oh yes, found time to get her master’s and doctorate at UNLV. Just looking at her resume made me tired. Contrary to women’s magazines that say women can’t have it all, Freda seemed to manage quite well, thank you.

Work was her job, but jobs were also her work. For 28 years, Freda worked for Nevada Employment Security, the state office that helped find jobs for the unemployed and paid unemployment benefits to those who lost jobs. She started at the lowliest job as an interviewer in 1966, shortly after she and her husband, Jerry, moved here with their three children. Over the years, she worked her way up to manager of the Henderson office, before retiring from that job in 1994 at age 75.

When she became manager of the Henderson office in 1978, one of the first things she did was change the way people wait.

“I recognized that people out of work deserved respect, so ours was the first office in the state to eliminate standing in line. You signed a log and sat down. Once we started that, there was a difference in the attitude of the claimants,” she said. “That was one innovation I was proud of.”

The second thing she’s proud of is that she didn’t retire from her state job until she was 75 and for the past 12 years has worked as a volunteer research assistant for the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research. Her last big project was as a data assistant for the Nevada Kids Count Data Book: 2006, an information resource on the well-being of children in Nevada.

“I’ve always enjoyed my work, and I love a challenge,” she said when asked why she still works. “I’m 87 and still working. That’s what I’m most proud of.”

She’s in good health, petite and fit. Our interview took place right after her tai chi class, but before she did her 20 lengths in the large backyard pool. She is Level 3 at tai chi, a combination of exercise and meditation, and at that level they introduce martial arts.

“Don’t mess with me,” she warned.

She and her late husband were married for 50 years and had three children, all grown professionals now in their 50s. She was born and raised in Seattle. Her father was a Russian immigrant who came to the United States in his teens and later started a successful candy business in Seattle. His daughter, while a teenager, decided to eat right, exercise, and refrain from smoking and drinking. And she stuck to it.

While working full time and raising her children, she earned her master’s degree in vocational training in 1969. “I got so excited about every course, I got my master’s and didn’t want to quit.” So she went on and earned her doctor of education degree in educational foundations and counseling in 1979.

Does she prefer to be called Dr. Klein? “Just call me Freda,” she said.

She admits her love of her work probably puts her in the minority in a world where it’s pretty obvious that most people work because they have to, not because they love what they do.

Look around at your own workplace. How many people would prefer not to be there?

In 2005, Freda was one of 100 women honored in an art exhibit called “The Wall of Women.” The women pictured were among those who shaped Las Vegas in the first 100 years. Freda was described as a humanitarian and educator. Of the women I recognized and knew, I realized they all loved the work they did, whether it was a paid position or a volunteer job. The paycheck wasn’t as important as job satisfaction.

The next time you go to a government office and instead of standing in line you’re asked to sign in and take a seat, think of Freda Klein, a woman who loved her work and thought making the unemployed stand in line was demeaning, so she found a simple solution.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.