Ronald Lloyd Klueh, age 87, passed away on March 23.
Dr. Klueh was born on Oct. 23, 1936, in Ferdinand, Ind., to Gilbert and Virginia Klueh. He married Helen Kays Klueh at St. Mary Church in Huntingburg, Ind., on Sept. 7, 1959. They met when they were in high school, and they were loving companions for 64 years of marriage until Mrs. Klueh’s death on Feb. 10.
The Kluehs enjoyed traveling, good food, and friends, but they especially enjoyed spending time with each other.
Dr. Klueh served in the U.S. Army for two years, then he continued on to college. Despite, or more likely in spite of naysayers, he pursued his education, graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University. He then went on to earn a master’s degree and his Ph.D. in metallurgy and material science from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Klueh’s professional life began at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1966 as a research metallurgist. While at the lab, he published over 220 scientific and technical papers. He was well known and respected in his field in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Klueh had a love for writing. In addition to technical writing, he wrote two techno-thriller novels: Perilous Panacea and The Pittsburgh Stealers. Those were followed by his latest work, which tells a coming-of-age story of a young man during the Korean War era. His passion for telling well-crafted stories lasted more than 50 years. His family recalls hearing the rat-a-tat-tat of his manual typewriter during the 1970s that lasted well into the night. Thankfully he was an early but somewhat reluctant adopter of the personal computer.
Dr. Klueh is survived by his daughter, Rona Klueh, of Portland, Ore.; a son, Kevin (Kathy) Klueh, of Orlando, Fla.; a granddaughter, Zoey Klueh, of Boulder, Colo.; a grandson, Ethan Klueh, of Orlando, Fla.; a sister, Imogene, of Ferdinand, Ind.; and a brother, Ken, and sister, Maureen, of Joshua Tree, Calif.
A funeral Mass for Dr. Klueh was celebrated on April 2 at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge, with Father Ray Powell serving as the celebrant. Donations in Dr. Klueh’s memory can be made to St. Mary School in Oak Ridge or the Transplant Clinic at Methodist Transplant Institute, P.O. Box 42048, Memphis, TN 38174-2048.
