Ann-Louise Kleper remembers meeting her husband Dennis for the first time when both were in Washington, D.C. for the inaugural joint men’s and women’s executive committee meeting of the UJA (now JFNA) Young Leadership Cabinet. “He was holding court in the hotel lobby, telling stories, and everybody was laughing, including me. He continued to make me laugh during nearly 32 years of marriage,” she said. Dennis Kleper passed away at age 70 on March 13.

Kleper became involved with JUF through its Young Leadership Division (YLD), leading a Summer Singles Mission to Israel, and serving as its observer on the board of CJE SeniorLife, a board to which he was subsequently elected. He continued to work on behalf of the agency as a board and committee member until the time of his death. With Ann-Louise, he led a YLD Jewish Dialogues group, including a mission to Israel, and both were part of the first Chicago cohort participating in the Wexner Heritage Program. As part of UJA/JFNA missions, he visited refuseniks in the former Soviet Union and physically carried arriving olim , or immigrants, from Ethiopia off the planes when they landed in Israel.

A practicing criminal defense attorney for 25 years, Kleper was a board member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In a mid-life career change, he became a consultant and coach, facilitating groups of CEOs and their key reports, who served as advisors and sounding boards to one another. He was known for asking probing and insightful questions and was considered a mentor by many.

As an offshoot of his professional work, in a volunteer capacity he started the Chicago Jewish Entrepreneurs Forum, an organization designed to bring together Jewish business owners for the purpose of growing and enhancing their businesses and simultaneously encouraging and supporting their tzedakah and fostering their greater involvement in the Jewish community.

In addition to communal involvement and work, Kleper’s interests ranged from outdoor sports, including sailing, skiing, and canoeing to music, art, and theater. He was also involved in politics, serving as the Midwest finance director for Gary Hart when he pursued the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984.

According to Ann-Louise, most important of all to her husband was family. She described Kleper as a loving father but acknowledged that his greatest joy came from his four grandchildren. He kept ever-growing lists of the places he wanted to take them and things he wanted to show them.

Kleper is survived by his children, Adam (Stacy) Levine and Lara (Josef) Zeigler; his grandchildren, Aidan and Farrah Levine and Cybil and Paula Zeigler; his sister, Wendy Kleper; and nieces and nephews.