[SFDXA] ARLX013 QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK)

[Bill Marx]

> SB SPCL @ ARL $ARLX013
> ARLX013 QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK)
> 
> ZCZC AX13
> QST de W1AW  
> Special Bulletin 13  ARLX013
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  August 21, 2012
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB SPCL ARL ARLX013
> ARLX013 QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK)
> 
> QST Managing Editor Joel P. Kleinman, N1BKE, of Meriden,
> Connecticut, died from injuries received during a house fire. He was
> 64. Kleinman was responsible for the coordination, organization,
> control and completion of all aspects of QST's editorial content
> each month. Kleinman's wife Jayne survived the fire, but is
> currently in the intensive care unit of a local hospital.
> 
> "Joel was obsessed with making QST the best Amateur Radio magazine
> it could be, but he pursued that obsession with uncommon dignity and
> kindness," said QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY. "He was the quiet man
> behind the scenes, shouldering much of the burden that comes with
> creating 164 pages of new content every month. Joel set a high
> standard for all who may follow him."
> 
> After graduating from the University of Montana with a MA in
> Journalism, Kleinman came to ARRL's Club and Training Department in
> June 1976 to lead a program aimed at introducing students to space
> science using Amateur Radio satellites. It was in this capacity that
> he contributed to the five-part series "Getting to Know OSCAR from
> the Ground Up" that was published in QST in 1977. Less than year
> later, Kleinman moved over to the ARRL's Production Department as an
> editorial assistant before becoming the ARRL Features Editor, then
> Editorial Supervisor, then Editorial/Production Supervisor. In 1988,
> he became Book Team Supervisor, where he was responsible for the
> development and editorial integrity of ARRL books and other media.
> He was named as QST Managing Editor in April 2001.
> 
> Kleinman was not licensed prior to beginning his career at ARRL
> Headquarters: "When I came on board, I didn't know much about ham
> radio," he remarked in a "Behind the Diamond" feature in the June
> 1979 issue of QST. "But it was made very clear to me that I soon
> would -- and I did!" Before long, Kleinman had written such QST
> articles as "The Lure of 2 Meters -- Part 1," the OSCAR articles and
> "Network Hams: A Hobby Becomes a Career," which focused on hams who
> worked at ABC, CBS and NBC: "It's not often that a person gets to go
> on behind-the-scenes tours of the headquarters of all three
> broadcast networks in two days."
> 
> "With the passing of Joel Kleinman, N1BKE, we have lost not only a
> respected professional colleague, but also a friend," said ARRL
> President Kay Craigie, N3KN. "The shocking circumstances of his
> death sharpen the sadness we feel. The ARRL sends our deepest
> sympathy to all of Joel's friends and family. I would like to thank
> the many amateurs who have expressed condolences through social
> media and by other means. Although you may not have known Joel
> personally, you feel his loss as a member of the extended Amateur
> Radio family. Your kindness and words of comfort are sincerely
> appreciated."
> 
> According to the Meriden Record-Journal, David Chester -- who lives
> across the street from the Kleinmans -- and about 20 others who were
> in his backyard at the time of the fire were the first responders to
> the blaze. "It was crazy," Chester told the newspaper. "Somebody
> smelled smoke, and most everyone went over there immediately."
> Others immediately ran into the house to save Jayne Kleinman. "Steve
> [one of Chester's friends] said he saw her legs and pulled on them,"
> Chester said. "The other two grabbed her from her back, and together
> they brought her out onto the front lawn."
> 
> Meriden Assistant Fire Chief Mark Finnegan told the Record-Journal
> that the Meriden Fire Department received a call around 5:15 PM on
> August 18, reporting a fire on the second floor of the single-family
> home. The fire was contained to the second floor of the home, and
> was put out by firefighters within 10 minutes.
> 
> Firefighters were able to locate Joel Kleinman in a bedroom on the
> second floor and paramedics treated him at the scene, but he died
> later at a local hospital. "When they got to the top of the stairs,
> the guy told me they saw [Jayne's] foot and they grabbed her foot
> and dragged her down the stairs," Meriden Fire Chief James Trainor
> told the Hartford Courant. "I guess they tried to go back in but it
> was untenable. There was so much smoke he just couldn't make it."
> Trainor said that the fire was in an upstairs room and may have been
> burning for a while before rescuers arrived.
> 
> "Joel was a gifted writer and editor," said ARRL Chief Executive
> Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "Amateur Radio is the richer today
> because he chose to devote his talents to the work of the ARRL."
> 
> Kleinman was a former president of the Newington Amateur Radio
> League (NARL) and a member of the Quarter Century Wireless
> Association (QCWA). Funeral arrangements are pending.
> 
> The ARRL is collecting condolence messages to forward on to Joel's
> family. If you would like send a message, please email it to,
> news at arrl.org.
> NNNN
> /EX