Friday at Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home, 3275 S. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Bonnie. After his retirement, he moved to Middleton, his wife's hometown, where he lived quietly and was busy with hobbies that included gardening, woodworking and remodeling projects. Kleczka was arrested twice for drunken driving and the second arrest, in 1995, led him to acknowledge his alcoholism and seek treatment. He didn't really grill them to be mean but he wanted the facts and if something didn't seem right he held them to that." "When different agency heads would come to plead for more money or staff, he was very precise. "I was always impressed with how thorough he knew the budget bill inside and out," said Kobinsky. Kleczka was not afraid to cut the budget and always asked tough questions. Tom Kobinsky was a Republican analyst for the state Senate and got to know Kleczka when he served on the Joint Finance Committee. He rose quickly in the Assembly and later the state Senate before winning a special election in 1984 to replace Zablocki in Congress. Jerry would have nothing to do with that."Īfter graduating from Don Bosco High School in 1961, Kleczka attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for two years, worked as an accountant and served in the Wisconsin National Guard. Nothing wrong with that, but it's all about money. "So many congressmen and senators when they leave office become lobbyists. "What a wonderful public servant he was," O'Brien said. O'Brien will officiate at Kleczka's funeral. There's new life that comes from generosity and goodness," said Father Tim O'Brien, director of MU's Les Aspin Center for Government. Marquette awarded him an honorary doctorate of law degree in 2005. Then Kleczka donated his campaign funds of $300,000 to endow what became in 2005 the Kleczka Internship Program. When Marquette University started an internship program in Washington, D.C., in 1984 for students interested in careers in government and public service, Kleczka was a supporter - inviting students to his office, organizing gatherings and helping make contacts. Now being a senior myself, I sure value his stewardship." "He was a really ardent supporter of our seniors. "I have an African cloth that I cherish that he gave me from one of his trips," said Moore. Though Kleczka supported another candidate during the primary, after Moore won he helped her through the transition to Washington. Gwen Moore succeeded Kleczka in the 4th Congressional District. "No one was better at watching the taxpayers' dollar and no one fought harder for the great city of Milwaukee," Feingold said. Russ Feingold met Kleczka when he ran for state Senate in 1982 and remembered him as a serious, hard-working legislator. He was noted for his legislation that helped protect seniors in public housing, banned "drive-through" baby deliveries when insurance companies forced some women to leave hospitals soon after giving birth and restricted Supplementary Security Income benefits for alcoholics and drug addicts.įormer U.S. Kleczka served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and twice voted against going to war - the Gulf War in 1991 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. "He was always the same guy from the south side of Milwaukee." "He was a longstanding member of Congress but you'd never know it," said Peter Barca, who recently stepped down as Assembly minority leader. He was remembered by people who served with him in government for his friendly, easy-going manner, his grasp of issues, work ethic and lack of ego. Kleczka, 73, died of natural causes Sunday at a care facility in the Madison area, said his nephew Jeff Kleczka. "You can go out feet first, and that's not my desire, or you can say, 'I think we've served with distinction,' and this is the time to go home and seek a new challenge," Kleczka told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dave Umhoefer in January 2004. He had succeeded Clement Zablocki, who suffered a heart attack in his office and died a few days later, and Kleczka did not want the same thing to happen to him. Jerry Kleczka grew up on Milwaukee's south side and never forgot where he came from as he rose up through the Legislature and then represented his hometown in Congress for two decades.Ī Democrat, Kleczka never lost an election - there were 17 - and then shocked everyone when he decided at age 60 to retire from Congress. View Gallery: Photos: Obit, Jerry Kleczka, representative in Congress for 20 years
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