by Greg Jerret
(Reprinted from “The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil,” April 26, 2001.)
Denise Joan Klahn died Tuesday at the age of 36 after falling into a diabetic coma at her apartment in downtown Council Bluffs.
Many Iowans have achieved greatness, fame and fortune. But few have done so in the face of such adversity as that which confronted Klahn.
Blind since birth and saddled with chronic health problems, Klahn became a much-loved gospel singer who touched the lives of many people with her faith, talent and genuine affection for everyone she met.
From the age of 5, Klahn showed an amazing talent for singing and playing the piano. By 7, she was performing in front of her first audience and making guest appearances in churches in Iowa and Nebraska.
She graduated from Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton, and was president of her class. At age 22 in 1987, she became the first blind graduate of Simpson College in Indianola. She then moved to Council Bluffs to start her own business teaching private music lessons. By that time, she could play the piano, organ, clarinet, trombone and saxophone and had performed in more than 200 concerts throughout the Midwest.
She aspired to pass on her gift and filled in as a substitute teacher in schools in Council Bluffs and Treynor.
Her mother, Maxine Klahn, of Treynor said she was adored by the elementary school children she taught. “She loved gospel singing and the elementary kids in Council Bluffs and Treynor,” she said.
Maxine Klahn said her daughter’s death came as a shock because a recent round of new treatments had reduced her risk of coma.
“She was feeling so much better that we didn’t realize she could still go into a coma, so it caught us off guard,” she said.
A friend, Jim Ross, of Underwood knew her since they were children and recalled her tenacious spirit. “She was plagued with health problems but never felt sorry for herself,” Ross said. “She never saw it as a hindrance. She wanted to be busy and contributing to society.”
Ross said that whenever he went out in public with Klahn, she was always met by people who knew and loved her.
“When we would go to the grocery store, people would constantly come up to her,” Ross said. “You couldn’t take her anywhere without people wanting to say hello. She was very well known.”