Annie Klein will step into the spotlight as a bat mitzvah at Congregation B’nai Amoona on June 28. That evening, friends and family from around the world will gather at the Shack in Chesterfield for a disco-themed celebration. Why disco? Annie’s not entirely sure. Maybe it’s the glittering mirror balls. Maybe it’s the groovy ABBA beats. Or maybe she just really wants to see certain family members attempt the Hustle in bell bottoms and platforms. Either way, it promises to be a night to remember.
One person who won’t be on the dance floor — at least not in the way she should be — is Annie’s mother, Lisa Klein. Lisa passed away in October 2012, just five months after Annie was born. Her diagnosis — aggressive, untreatable gastric cancer — came out of nowhere and took her far too soon.
At the time, Lisa’s story in the Jewish Light touched many in the St. Louis Jewish community and beyond. Friends, family and the rabbinic staff at the former Shaare Zedek Synagogue rallied around her, spreading the word and setting up a website to support her surviving family: Annie and Lisa’s husband, Thomas Klein, then a law student at St. Louis University.
Lisa’s journey started far from St. Louis. Born and raised in Sweden, she moved to the United States in 2004 after meeting Thomas on JDate. Two years later, the couple married and settled in St. Louis, Thomas’ hometown. Lisa initially worked as a maternity leave replacement teacher at Saul Mirowitz Day School-Reform Jewish Academy before becoming the director of a Sylvan Learning Center.
After years of trying to conceive, Lisa and Thomas were thrilled when they learned she was pregnant. But the pregnancy was difficult, and in May 2012, Annie arrived three months early via C-section. While the tiny newborn grew stronger and was released from the hospital that July, Lisa’s health suddenly declined. She began experiencing severe vomiting, unable to keep food down. Two months later, she was gone.
Fast forward nearly 13 years and Annie is thriving. A few months ago, Thomas reached out with an update — his daughter’s upcoming bat mitzvah. Knowing how many in the St. Louis Jewish community had followed her story, he felt it was the right time to reconnect. We met at a Panera in Chesterfield, near where he and Annie now live. Joining us was Angela Brenner, Lisa’s best friend and Annie’s devoted non-Jewish “godmother.” (She also has a Jewish godmother, Lisa’s cousin Becca, who lives in Kansas City.)
“Becca is the one Annie consults for Jewish stuff,” Angela, whom Annie calls GiGi, explained. “I’m here for moral support and late-night talks. I promised her mom I’d always be there for her.”
Lisa’s final wishes for Annie were clear: She wanted her to attend Jewish day school and visit Sweden every year to stay connected with her heritage. Her Swedish family includes Lisa’s father and stepmother — Lisa’s mother passed away when she was 14 — as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Annie was named after Lisa’s late mother, Anita.
Thomas made good on both of Lisa’s requests. Annie attended a Jewish day school in Kansas City until fourth grade before switching to public school alongside her younger half-sister, Saige. After Thomas’ recent divorce from the woman he married when Annie was 4, he and Annie moved from Kansas City back to St. Louis, where his parents (Annie’s paternal grandparents) still live. He works as a lawyer while Annie attends seventh grade at Parkway Central Middle School.
Annie has also made regular trips to Sweden, often accompanied by either Thomas or Angela. Along the way, she’s pieced together a vivid picture of her vibrant mother through stories from family and friends, both here and in Sweden.
“I learned that she was a very passionate person,” Annie said with a smile. “She could make friends anywhere — she never really met a stranger. She was an animal lover. She was a good singer. She valued her Judaism. And she loved my dad.”
Annie shares many of those qualities with her mother. She, too, enjoys singing, and is a passionate “Camp Sabra kid.” Like her mother, she’s an animal lover — her bat mitzvah project is spearheading a supply drive for the Animal Protective Association. She also named her Shetland Sheepdog Albus Dumbledog Jr., a nod to her mother’s beloved Sheltie, Albus Dumbledog. (Lisa’s other Sheltie? Luna Lovedog, of course.) So it’s no surprise that perhaps the strongest connection between them — aside from their deep bond with family — is their love for Harry Potter.
And not only them, Angela, too. It’s actually how Lisa and Angela first bonded — and soon became besties — in 2005 — over a dog-eared copy of “Harry Potter” at the Sylvan Learning Center where Lisa worked. Angela’s son, who had dyslexia, was getting tutored there and Angela would wait for him reading “Harry Potter” book after book.
“She always wanted the spoilers,” Angela said, laughing. “Like, ‘Just tell me — who dies?’”
As a bat mitzvah gift, Angela and her family are taking Annie to “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” in Orlando. To say Annie is excited is like saying Voldemort had mild control issues. But this trip is more than just a magical adventure — it’s a way to honor a love passed down from mother to daughter, a connection stronger than any spell. And much like Harry, who carried the love of his lost parents with him always, Annie steps forward into her next chapter knowing that her mother’s presence — though unseen — is as real as ever.
