After over a century of living, DeeDee Eugenia Gunderson Klair has passed away just 12 days before her 102nd birthday. DeeDee was born in Warroad, Minnesota in 1915. As a young girl, she moved with her eight brothers and sisters to Rainy River, Manitoba so that her father could work on the Canadian Railroad. It was while she was ice skating on the Rainy River that she met Lester Klair, a fellow skater from the U.S. side of the river. They married in 1938, and in 1939 her son Roger was born in Baudette, Minnesota. The family moved to Pontiac, Michigan in 1941, where DeeDee became part of The Greatest Generation, working at General Motors making Army trucks for the World War II effort, while Lester was at Normandy and in the Pacific. She continued there until 1951, when she began working at Michigan Bell Telephone as an operator, retiring from Bell in 1973. DeeDee was widowed in 1970 and although she had many suitors, she never remarried. She moved to Englewood, Florida in 1988 to be with some of her fellow retirees, and lived the good life until 2008 when Roger, an Air Force veteran, facilitated DeeDee’s move to Fort Walton Beach and Hawthorn House Assisted Living at Bob Hope Village. She passed away there on Saturday, April 1, 2017. DeeDee was very pretty, always a lady, sweet and soft spoken, who loved ballroom dancing, the color purple, and an occasional glass of Chardonnay. She is survived by her son Roger and his fiancée Sharon Reed of Fort Walton Beach, FL, her granddaughters Gina Malachinsky of McKinney, TX, Michelle Klair of Fort Walton Beach, FL, and Jennifer Lowery of Crestview, FL, and former daughter-in-law and caregiver, Gerdi Klair, and three great grandchildren. A sister Esther Lewis and brother Carl Gunderson, reside in Winnepeg, Manitoba. DeeDee’s cremains will be buried in Waterford, Michigan beside her husband. Many thanks to the wonderful staff at Hawthorn House ,who were always caring and compassionate, and where DeeDee lived quite independently until the last few weeks of her life, and to Debbie and Emerald Coast Hospice, who were invaluable in DeeDee’s final days. Arrangements are entrusted to McLaughlin Mortuary of Fort Walton Beach, FL. Expressions of love and sympathy can be viewed or submitted online at www.mclaughlinmortuary.com
 

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