Dr. Duane Kline

Duane Montgomery Kline Jr. was born in Santo Domingo, Peru on October 20, 1922, the son of a mining engineer and a nurse. He died peacefully in his sleep on November 27, 2011 at Life Care Center of Cheyenne. In the Amazon Basin of Peru, he earned the childhood moniker of being a "typical tropical tramp". Members of his family and friends called him "TTT" throughout his life. In 1924 the Kline family moved to Colorado where he spent the remainder of his childhood in Rico and Denver graduating from Denver East High School in 1940. Following graduation, the family moved to Kansas where he attended the University of Kansas as an undergraduate and medical student, during which time he served in the United States Army. He earned his medical degree in 1946. On October 26, 1946, Dr. Kline married Joanna Gleed Wagstaff. The following year he was sent to Korea and Japan as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corp in the Army of Occupation, attaining the rank of captain. Following his return to the United States in 1949, Dr. Kline moved to Denver where he undertook residency training in the emerging specialty of orthopaedic surgery. Dr. Kline came to Cheyenne in 1953, and he was engaged in the private practice of orthopaedic surgery in Cheyenne for 35 years before retiring in 1987. Dr. Kline was a member of the Wyoming Medical Society and the American Medical Association for over fifty-five years. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and served on its Board of Councilors and admissions committee. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Among his many work-related accomplishments were serving as Chief of Staff at both DePaul Hospital and Laramie County Memorial Hospital and as an officer of the Wyoming Medical Society. For many years Dr. Kline also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and on the editorial board of the Western Journal of Medicine. He was voted the Wyoming Physician of the Year in 1975. Following his retirement from private practice, Dr. Kline acted as a consultant for Wyoming Worker's Compensation and the Social Security Administration. He was also a long time member of the "getaway table" at the Cheyenne Rotary Club and of Westerners. He was the last surviving member of the Diers Club of Rico, Colorado. During his retirement, he and Joanna traveled extensively. Dr. Kline was preceded in death by his parents, Duane M. Kline, Sr. and Rachel Ferguson Kline and his sisters Barbara E. McWhorter and Ilene J. McClosky. He is survived by his wife of 65 years Joanna W. Kline, and by his five children: Duane M. Kline III of Boulder, Colorado; Melissa K. Clements (Richard), of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Stephen H. Kline (Susan), of Cheyenne, Wyoming; Andrew F. Kline (Kathleen) of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and Peter G. Kline (Sara) of Centennial, Colorado and thirteen grandchildren. Dr. Kline will be remembered as a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, a talented surgeon who cared greatly about his patients, an avid fly fisherman and lover of the Rocky Mountain West. Donations may be made in his name to a charity of choice. Private services will be held at a date to be determined. Cremation has taken place under the care of Schrader Funeral Home and online condolences can be made at www.schraderfuneral.com.