Felicitas “Lucy” Josefina Johanna Wilhelmina Zolper Kline, 94, Great Falls, MT, died Friday, March 19, 2021, at Peace Hospice after a short illness. She was surrounded by her loving children.
Lucy was born on June 15, 1926, in Sumperk, in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, the daughter of the late Alfred Zolper and Anni (Pospischil Zolper) Effenberger. Lucy had fond memories of her early life in Czechoslovakia, with her mother Anni and sister, Traude, before World War II changed their lives forever. When the war ended, they were forced out of the country and began a new life in Munich, Germany, where Lucy met a handsome American soldier on the steps of her church. Although she would embark on a memorable cruise across the North Atlantic in April 1957 with the goal of living with friends while she improved her English, she stayed in touch with that special soldier. They were married in June of 1959 and began what was to be an almost 49-year union. After assignments in North Carolina and Germany, the family settled in Clarksville, Tennessee. After health issues took her husband, she embarked on another adventure when she moved to Montana to be closer to her daughters.
She spent her days freshening up flower beds at her new home and enjoying evenings on the front porch glider. In recent years she had to move to an assisted living facility so she could be cared for during the day. Friday nights she always came over for pizza night or 2nd dinner. Lucy loved her Catholic faith and fellow parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on Malmstrom AFB, and she did not miss an opportunity to share in fellowship after Mass with coffee and donuts!
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, visit the Schnider Funeral Home website.
