Richard “Dick” Kleid, a longtime public servant in Palm Beach and former Town Council president, died Sept. 25 at his South End home, according to an online obituary. He was 93.
Mr. Kleid was a New York City native and retired attorney who moved to Palm Beach in 1997 with his late wife, Rhoda. Soon after arriving, the council appointed him to the Planning and Zoning Commission, where he later became chairman.
After five years on the zoning commission, Mr. Kleid was elected to the Town Council, where he served 13 years, including two as president and two as president pro tem.
Mr. Kleid stepped down from the council in 2018, but he rejoined the Planning and Zoning Commission after his wife’s death. He served until 2024.
Gail Coniglio, who served as mayor while Mr. Kleid was on the council and later worked alongside him on the zoning board, described him as a “true gentleman” who treated everyone with courtesy and kindness.
“He was respected because he was respectful and kind to others,” she said. “It was my honor to serve with him and share his friendship. His leadership and thoughtful intellect will be sorely missed. Dick cared deeply about Palm Beach with the commitment to preserve the elegance, charm and beauty for future generations.”
Former council president Maggie Zeidman remembered Mr. Kleid as a sharp and insightful person who valued the perspectives of those around him.
“I marveled at his ability to distill very complex issues into logical bullet points,” she said. “He made it seem so simple, and even if we disagreed, I could follow his thinking. What really stood out about Dick was his respect for other people. Yes, he was a nice person, but he was so much more than nice. He valued the opinion of others, and you knew you were valued. Dick was a prince among men. He was a good man and a good friend.”
Mayor Danielle Moore, who along with the council last year declared Oct. 8, 2024, “Dick Kleid Day” to honor his 25 years of service, remembered him as an exemplary leader who will be deeply missed.
“Dick was always willing to share his knowledge with others and provide solid, consistent, excellent advice,” she said. “My first year on the town council in 2015, Dick was the council member I always watched and listened to. He was such a gentleman, and it was my honor and pleasure to serve with him.”
In addition to his service to the town, Mr. Kleid also was a Palm Beach Civic Association director, vice chairman and director of the Citizens’ Association of Palm Beach, a director of the Palm Beach Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a member of the Allocation Committee of the United Way, an alumni interviewer for Columbia College, and a volunteer attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, where he received the Emeritus Award.
A member of Temple Emanu-El in Palm Beach, he was remembered by Rabbi Michael Resnick as caring and thoughtful.
“He was a true gentleman,” Resnick said. “He was soft-spoken, kind and gracious — a true class act.”
Born in New York City to Grace and Emanuel G. Kleid, Mr. Kleid graduated from Horace Mann School, Columbia College, Columbia Law School, and the NYU Graduate School of Law.
He spent his legal career as real estate counsel for J.C. Penny Company in Pittsburgh, Pa.
While in Pittsburgh, he was a member and president of the Upper Saint Clair School Board and served as a director of The Community Foundation. He also was a frequent speaker at the law section of the International Council of Shopping Centers and a contributing writer for legal publications.
Mr. Kleid is survived by his daughter, Susan Kleid of Denver and Vail, Colo.; a sister-in-law, Maxine Marlowe; his niece, Shari Beth Neidich, and her husband, Robert; his nephew, Keith Marlowe, and his wife, Lise; several grandnieces and grandnephews; and his companion of the past five years, Dr. Carmel Donovan Spamer of Palm Beach and New York.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Richard Kleid, longtime Palm Beach official and community volunteer, dies at 93
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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