Dr. Donald F. Klein, a retired pediatrician and medical school professor who was an advocate for the mentally disabled, died of a blood disorder Thursday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The longtime Stevenson resident was 79.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Klein was the son of a physician whose office was next door to home.
He earned a bachelor's degree in 1949 from the Johns Hopkins University and graduated from Yale University School of Medicine in 1954.
After completing an internship at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, he served two years as a captain with an Air Force medical unit at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
When he left the Air Force, Dr. Klein came to what was then the old Baltimore City Hospitals, now Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, to complete his residency in pediatrics.
"At that time, City Hospitals had one of the most widely respected pediatricians in the country, Dr. Harold Harrison, who was chairman of pediatrics," said Dr. Klein's son, Dr. Andrew S. Klein, director of the comprehensive transplant center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "It was through Dr. Harrison's mentorship that his dedication to the care of children was nurtured."
Beginning in 1958 and continuing until he retired in 1996, Dr. Klein served on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he taught several generations of medical students.
In 1958, he joined Dr. Anthony Perlman in a private pediatric practice in Towson and also served on the pediatrics staff at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Mercy Medical Center, Sinai Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital and City Hospitals.
In 1959, Dr. Klein was appointed pediatrician-in-charge of the pre-adoptive clinic of what is now the Baltimore County Department of Social Services.
"He was a passionate advocate for children," his son said. "For more than 30 years, he counseled parent groups and families about the negative effects of TV on children, focusing on the impact of violence and the distortion of life values portrayed in that medium."
Dr. Klein's son said his father "encouraged the children and families in his care to 'have good health, laugh a lot, and have a glorious future.' This was balanced against his regular advice to parents to say to their children, 'What part of 'no' did you not understand?'" he said.
Because his daughter was developmentally disabled, Dr. Klein was keenly interested in children and adults who had similar disabilities.
After a controversial proposal in 1971 to establish a facility in Roland Park for mentally disabled people, Dr. Klein and his wife wrote an op-ed piece that was published in The Evening Sun.
"It is well known that the retarded person desires and needs the same fulfillments in life as those who have normal intelligence. A life with individuality, productivity, self-deduction, satisfaction, and dignity is not the exclusive right of the mentally competent," he wrote.
The article continued: "Our land abounds with the retarded who have been dumped on the discard pile - disregarded - not needed - useless - hidden away in institutions, many of which are no more than human storage houses."
His compassion and empathy for the developmentally disabled led him to become involved as a member of the human concerns committee at Camphill Village in Chester County, Pa.
For the past 30 years, the couple worked diligently to help develop the 432-acre farming and handcrafting community for developmentally disabled adults who live and work at the facility.
Services were Saturday.
Also surviving are his wife of 57 years, the former Saundra Pines; a daughter, Amy L. Klein of Kimberton Hills, Pa.; two brothers, Peter Klein of Las Vegas and Richard Klein of Sussex, England; and three grandsons.
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com