It is true that the light we see from stars has traveled a great distance and time. Some of the light we see is from stars that are no longer shining….
Eddie Klein had many achievements in
his career, many powerful positions and accolades. He owned a
pharmacy, ran a pharmacy and worked for a large corporation. He was a powerful and successful
leader in the Texas Pharmacy Association as well as many other
organizations and groups. He held every office there ever was. But that is not how he is known. Here is Eddie’s Legacy in the words of those whose lives he touched.
He was really known for his
generosity, he was always helping everyone. And when asked why he did
this he would always say "I’m just trying to make your day a little
better”
He was the TPA Student Liaison
before we even had one, he traveled to all the White Coat ceremonies and
mentored students in every area of practice. He would take
students to other pharmacies and introduce them to everyone he knew.
He took his vacations to go to Pharmacy Schools and visit - Mary Klein,
Jai Ellis, Bethany Boyd, Chris Dembny.
Tremendously high energy, he
was always working and didn’t like sitting around.
The Heart of DAPA, he loved his
profession, TPA, DAPA and never missed a State convention. During the
conventions it seemed as though he never slept! Always visiting
talking, encouraging. He was easily the most recognized Pharmacist in
the State of Texas.
His personality was incredibly
genuine, he sincerely wanted to help you, never wanted anything in
return, his heart was as big as Texas, no one was ever a stranger
to Eddie. Amazing thoughtfulness and giving
nature. He wrote Thank you notes all the time for everyone. Giving
even when he had little to give.
A true Pharmacist, during door to
door campaigning for Chuck Hopson he was confronted by a frightening
looking man who was carrying a gun. Eddie went right on in and
counseled the man about his meds for 30 minutes!
from Mary Klein - As a P1, I was
involved in starting our NCPA chapter at Tech, and was also a TPA
director. I spent the better part of that year really confused on
conference
calls with other TPA student leaders because I really knew nothing
about what TPA was about, and quite honestly, was ready to quit. At the
end of the year, I attended the NCPA legislative meeting in Washington
DC, and during the first day, I was asked at
least five times if was "Eddie's daughter." I had no idea who this
Eddie person they were talking about was, but as I left the opening
reception, I ran into a man who saw the Double T on my name tag, and
asked if I was a student. He introduced himself as
Eddie Klein, and a light bulb went off in my head -- I had to laugh. I
told him my name, and it turns out that he had been asked multiple
times in the day if his daughter was there at the convention. So, for
the rest of the convention, I called him Dad and
he called me daughter -- something that stuck for the entire time that I
knew him. At that convention, I found out he was the President-Elect
of TPA (see, told you I knew nothing about TPA at the time!), and we
talked a lot about the fact that the students
were just clueless about what TPA is about. I told him that I wasn't
going to be a director the following year, and he practically begged me
to stay on. I guess Eddie saw a leader in me when I didn't really see
it in myself.
During the following two years,
Eddie made a point to visit every school each year to talk about TPA,
he made sure that TPA paid for food for at least one chapter meeting
each year, and he really helped to motivate our student leaders to start
some of the programs that are now the student
events at TPA annual meeting. I couldn't tell you how many late night
email and phone conversations I had with him as a student -- he was
always looking for a way to get more students involved.
When I graduated, Eddie decided I
needed to move up in leadership in TPA. He pushed me to run for Speaker
of the House, and then he put my name on the ballot the first
time for Director at Large (he was chair of the nominating committee).
Literally, he called and said "I know you are the current Speaker-Elect
and didn't want to be nominated for something else, but you need name
recognition, so I got you on the ballot for
Director at Large. He was my cheerleader in every
position I ran for, and I must say that I miss my "Pharmacy
Dad" terribly. I think the reason why I continue to be passionate about
students is in part because he was.
Eddie, you are a True Texas Pharmacy Star…and your light will shine on for a very long time. Thank you to Louis Rumsey, Chuck Hopson, Mary
Klein, Bethany Boyd, May Woo and all who shared their stories of Eddie
and carry on his Legacy.
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