Elizabeth "Libby" Grubb Klein

Elizabeth “Libby” Grubb Klein was born and raised in Kings Creek, North Carolina, where she attended Kings Creek High School. From an early age, Libby was known for her beautiful singing voice. She sang regularly in churches and at school, beginning a lifelong connection between her love of music and her Christian faith.

As a young woman, Libby left the familiar surroundings of the North Carolina mountains and moved with her young family to Baltimore, Maryland. It was there that she would spend an important part of her early adult life, raising her children and meeting challenges that required tremendous strength and determination.

During those years, Libby found herself with the responsibility of raising her children as a young single mother. Without the advantages of higher education or strong family support nearby, she worked to provide for her family and, through difficult circumstances, kept her children together. The strength, resilience, and devotion to family that carried her through those years would remain defining qualities throughout her life.

It was in Baltimore that Libby later met and married Robert “Bob” Klein, beginning a new chapter in her life and bringing together a larger family. Together, Libby and Bob built a life and family in Maryland before eventually returning to North Carolina and settling in the Lenoir area, near the place where Libby’s own story had begun.

After returning to North Carolina, Libby worked at Caldwell Memorial Hospital, where she served as a phlebotomist and worked in hospital admissions. Her caring nature—the same compassion she brought to her family, her church, and those around her—was evident in her work as well. She was honored as a recipient of the hospital’s Caring Heart Award and recognized at a special annual banquet, an honor that reflected the kindness and compassion she showed to others.

Libby’s artistic gifts extended well beyond music. She was also a talented oil painter, creating commissioned works for others as a freelance artist. She shared that talent through teaching, offering art classes at Caldwell Community College. Whether through a song, a piano or organ, or a canvas and brush, creativity was an important part of who Libby was and something she shared generously with others.

Her Christian faith was at the center of her life. Libby was a founding member of Living Hope Church in Lenoir and was part of the church in its early days when the congregation was located in Whitnel, North Carolina. She faithfully served the church in many ways, including playing the piano and organ and teaching Sunday school. The beautiful voice that had filled churches when she was a young girl remained part of a lifelong love of music and worship.

But perhaps Libby’s greatest legacy was the way she loved.

Her daughter Sherry described it simply: “Mom taught me real love—the love for Jesus, love for others, and love for animals. She never judged; she just loved.”

Libby loved her family with a giving heart, but also with a fierce one. She was gentle in her love and unwavering in her loyalty, and when those she loved needed defending, she defended them fiercely. Her faith was not simply something she professed; it was reflected in the compassion she showed others, in her devotion to her family, and in the life she lived.

Libby is survived by her son, David Reid and his wife, Bonnielyn Vail Reid; her daughter, Sherry Reid Ruane and her husband, Christopher Ruane; her son, retired Colonel Kenneth Klein and his wife, Audrey Klein; and her son, Robert “Wayne” Klein and his wife, Maria Klein.

She is also survived by three granddaughters, Nicole Reid Talley and her husband, Eric Talley; Madison Reid Eklund and her husband, Ben Eklund; and Shannon Christina Ruane; and two great-granddaughters, Emilia Talley and Reid Elizabeth Eklund.

A service celebrating Libby’s life will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at Living Hope Church, 1890 Connelly Springs Road, Lenoir, NC 28645.

A graveside service will follow at Blue Ridge Memorial Park, 2017 Wilkesboro Blvd., Lenoir, NC 28645.

Libby’s life took her from the small community of Kings Creek to Baltimore and ultimately back home to the North Carolina mountains. Through hardship and happiness, change and loss, one thing remained constant: her faith and her love for the people around her.

She never judged. She just loved.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Living Hope Church, a church Mom was instrumental in founding and that remained very dear to her heart. Website: https://livinghopelenoir.com/give

Living Hope Church, 1890 Connelly Springs Road, Lenoir, NC 28645.

A service to celebrate Libby's life will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Living Hope Church.  Inurnment will follow at Blue Ridge Memorial Park, 2017 Wilkesboro Blvd, Lenoir, NC 28645.