By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
January 23, 2000
It was the summer of 1942, and Don Klemp–then 14–was mad at the world. An orphan who was shuttled from one foster home to another, he always had his guard up.
Don didn’t expect to fall in love. And he already had a crush on another girl. But after a few months around Renee the summer after eighth grade he realized that his crush was misguided. It was Renee he was crazy about.
“She was a year younger than me and neither of us drove yet,” Don remembers. “So we used to ride double on my bike. During one ride I asked her to `go with me,’ as we called it in those days. When she said, `Yes,’ it was the happiest moment of my life. Well, of my 14-year-old life, anyhow.”
That fall, the two enrolled at separate high schools: he at Lane and she at Amundsen. But throughout those four years, they still `went with each other.’ When he had money, they went to the movies. When cash was tight, they took long walks, bike rides and attended church dances.
The couple got engaged after graduating from high school, despite her father’s objections.
“He didn’t think I was good enough for her,” Don says. “And he was right. I wasn’t. But I really loved her and didn’t want to give her up. I wasn’t the most friendly kid and a lot of people thought I was bitter when I was young. But Renee saw through that. I don’t know what won her over.”
What won her over was his personality and the kind way he treated her, she says.
“It was just one of those things that clicked right away,” Renee says. “We never sat down and planned much of anything. But we were always so comfortable with each other and everything felt right when we were together.”
Married 51 years, the couple have four children and nine grandchildren.
“To me she is still the most beautiful, wonderful, exciting woman I know,” Don says. “In my eyes, she still looks the way she did 57 years ago. To say she is the love of my life is too easy. To say she’s my best friend is almost a cliche because she is so much more.”
Laughing, he adds, “Not bad for two kids riding double on a bike.”
