Today we lost the greatest Premier Canada has had or will ever have. Ralph Klein passed away today at the age of 70. I had the great honor of knowing Ralph as a friend. Ralph was the most remarkable man I ever met: humble, caring, bold and smart. He will be missed by all. We express our deepest condolences to his wife Colleen. We have the utmost gratitude for the time he gave us as a Mayor, a Premier and a friend. We may never realize how lucky we are.
Here is the statement from his wife Colleen:
My beloved husband Ralph has slipped away after 42 years of marriage, and 70 years of life.
In his public life, while many will now debate what he stood for, he himself simply believed that public service was important, that it need not be complicated, and that it revolved around people.
In his private life, his greatest gift to his family was that when the long work days were over, and he came home, it was his sanctuary, and the politics stopped at the door.
If the public will love him for all the things he did for them, his family will forever love him for all the things he meant to us.
-Colleen Klein
Watch this terrific video below of Ralph’s time in public office courtesy Calgary Herald