KHS Mourns the Passing of Freda Klotter
The Kentucky Historical Society joins the Klotter family in mourning the passing of Freda Klotter. While married to the Kentucky state historian, Dr. James Klotter, Freda made her own contributions to Kentucky history and to advancing Kentucky history education. Students and teachers from across the Commonwealth benefit from her leadership and passion to educate during visits to the James and Freda Klotter Educational Suite at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History where the family will privately gather to celebrate her life.
Born on May 15, 1946, Freda Jean Campbell Klotter passed away from Alzheimer’s disease on Monday, August 14, 2023. She led a very happy and productive life. Freda grew up as an only child in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky in Owsley County with her parents, Paul and Mary Campbell.
Early on, she decided to be an educator and was an excellent one. Freda received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky in 1968, and a master’s degree soon afterwards. Later, she received a Rank I certification from Georgetown College, and several specialty degrees from other colleges.
She started off teaching half-a-day at Good Shepherd School in Lexington, where her three children attended. Once they were in public schools, she began teaching full-time in Fayette County, mostly at Garden Springs Elementary from 1978-1995.
She was then recruited to teach other teachers how to teach better, which she did for some twenty fruitful years, first operating out of the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, in Louisville, and then at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, in Shelbyville, before retiring in 2015.
During those years, Freda traveled all over the country. She conducted workshops in the Caribbean and in Costa Rica. In the middle of this she received a grant to train teachers in Arusha, Tanzania, in Africa. She eventually made nine six-week trips there.
She also co-authored three books, including Faces of Kentucky, an elementary text, and A Concise History of Kentucky, an adult version of the same. An excellent teacher, she won various recognitions, including several statewide Golden Apple Awards.
But more than an educator, Freda was a wife, mother, and grandmother. She met Jim Klotter, her eventual husband, when they were five years old, and they were childhood sweethearts. Marrying in 1966, they remained together for over 56 loving years.
Freda loved all children but especially her own and she remarked frequently what great kids—Karen Lozano of Lexington, Chris Klotter of Bowling Green, and Kathy Gataky of Tampa—and grandkids she had. She loved her seven grandchildren greatly and traveled with them to some of the 30 countries she visited. She will be missed by all of them—Alex, Ben, and Jack Lozano, Megan and Rachel Klotter, and Graham and James Gataky.
There will be no public visitation or service, but the family requests that you send your memories of Freda to her family, at 1165 Monarch Street, Apt. 114, Lexington, Ky 40513. Please make contributions to the wonderful Memory Care unit of Cedarhurst at Beaumont at the Monarch Street address or any of the educational institutions mentioned above.
