Joseph J. Klein; Teacher, Music Director

Joseph J. Klein, a voice teacher who served as music director at two Glendale churches, has died at a Glendale convalescent home. He was 90.

Klein, a resident of Glendora who had lived in Glendale for more than 50 years, died Saturday of complications of a stroke, said his wife, Esther Klein.

A native of South Dakota, Klein came to California as a child. He performed with the Immanuel Male Quartet and sang in the Oval Office for President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. Klein taught hundreds of students at his Glendale vocal studio from the early 1930s until his retirement in 1988. He had also served as minister of music at the First Baptist Church of Glendale from 1932 to 1939 and was director of music at Glendale Presbyterian Church from 1939 to 1965.

Klein was a founder of the Choral Conductors Guild of Southern California and the Glendale Kiwanis Men’s Chorus, called the Red Coats, which he directed for 16 years. For several years, Klein had conducted a 500-voice choir for Easter sunrise services at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Glendale.

In addition to his wife of 66 years, Klein is survived by a son, James Klein of Boise, Idaho; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Glendale Presbyterian Church, 219 E. Harvard St. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in the Hollywood Hills. Kiefer & Eyerick Mortuary in Glendale is handling the arrangements. Donations can be made in Klein’s name to the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles.