June 2, 1946 – January 14, 2026
There are many thoughts on desired ways to pass away; “in one’s sleep,” “surrounded by loved ones,” “doing what they loved,” etc. Dwight did it in his own way.
Dwight Allyn Kleven, 79, of Mason City, Iowa passed away on Sunday, January 11, 2026 peacefully at his home workbench.
Dwight was born on June 2, 1946 in Mason City. He was the son of Elsie (Bartelt) Kleven and Marlen Kleven.
Dwight was an auto mechanic for 50 years at Dale’s Service. At the age of 16, while still in high school, he started on-the-job training at Dale’s. He soon bought the business, and for most of these years, was the sole proprietor and mechanic until he retired in 2012.
He was drafted into the US Army and served two years in Karlsruhe, Germany.
In the early 1970’s Dwight and his brothers, Ken and Butch, raced cars at tracks in Iowa and Minnesota with Dwight as the driver. Their best car was #95, the purple Camaro, “Plum Crazy”. Behind the wheel, Dwight frequently reached the finish line with the checkered flag flying.
Dwight and his wife, Barbara, were active in Mason City Youth Hockey. He coached his son, Mike and his nephews, Jeff and Jim, in Squirt, Pee Wee and Bantam teams. He also helped found and played in the adult hockey league, alongside his brothers, Ken and Butch.
Dwight like to build things. When his son Mike was a teenager, together, they built a beautiful Camaro. He also built and flew Radio Control Airplanes and had been active with the River City RC Club.
He made many trips to Arizona and California to visit his daughter, Lisa. They hiked, beach combed, snowshoed, skied, and bicycled while enjoying the beauty of the American West.
Dwight is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Kimber Kleven; daughter and son-in-law, Lisa Musgrove and Eric Scott; brothers and their spouses, Butch and Pat Kleven, Ken and Joyce Kleven, and Mark and Pam Kleven; sister and her spouse, Marcia and Mark Blong; brother in-law and spouse, John and Denise Schaefer; and grandchildren, Sydney and Bryce Kleven.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Barbara Jacqueline (Schaefer) Kleven; his second wife, Barb Deborah (Peterson) Kleven; nephew, Jeff Kleven; and son-in-law, Bob Musgrove.
Dwight had good sense of humor and had a positive outlook on life. He often remarked he had been given a second chance at life after a catastrophic heart failure 48 years ago. In January of 1978, Dwight suffered a bizarre cardiac event which left him dead for 45 minutes. His wife, Barbara, recently completed a course in CPR. Her quick response and the exceptional work of the emergency medical team miraculously brought Dwight back to life. When asked what it was like to die, Dwight with a laugh and his characteristic good humor quipped, “it’s not so bad”.
Today we can take solace in, and have a little laugh with Dwight’s belief that it’s not so bad. He would have wanted that for us.
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