John Klens, Emergency Medicine Practitioner

John Klens is an Emergency Medicine Practitioner in Dayton, OH with expertise and training to address urgent illnesses and injuries. He has experience working in trauma centers, intensive care units and emergency rooms.

He is married to Lori Krauss and has three children: Kathryn, Jack and Gretchen. Additionally he is survived by his sister Nancy Magarian and her husband Kevin as well as five grandchildren.

Early Life and Education

Born in Macon, Georgia, Killens was raised with his great-grandmother’s tales of slavery and reading Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Langston Hughes’ works. Additionally, he attended Ballard Normal School – one of few schools for Black students in Georgia – while growing up.

He graduated in 1933 and intended to pursue law. To this end, he attended night classes at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida; Morris Brown College in Atlanta; and Howard University in Washington D.C.

World War II interrupted his legal career, but he returned to work at the National Labor Relations Board and then started studying law evenings at Terrell Law School in Washington D.C. During this period he experienced racism firsthand while serving in the U.S. Army; this theme would later be featured in his novel And Then We Heard the Thunder (1963), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Personal Life

John was born on December 3, 1959 in Torrington, Connecticut and enjoyed a long career in the medical sales industry. He especially loved spending time with his family and playing sports; his sense of humor added to it all. John left behind his wife Lori Krauss and children Kathryn, Jack and Gretchen along with sister Nancy Magarian (nephew Alexa Vartan and Cara Magarian), mother-in-law Sharon Krauss (sister-in-law Jennifer (Krauss) MacLean); as well as father-in-law Jerry Krauss; brother-in-law Tom MacLean; plus Oscar his pet pug.