Dr. Jonathan J. Klement, 87, of Sagamore Hills, Ohio passed away July 27, 2026.
He was the beloved husband of Marilyn (nee Kuehl); the loving father of Scott (Diana) and Steven (Connie); cherished grandfather of Shawn (Nichole), Steven (Aimee) and Cristina; great-grandfather of Shiloh and Charlotte; son of the late Joseph and Emma (nee Griepp); dear brother of the late Hyacinth Badalamente (David) and David Klement.
Private burial at Northfield-Macedonia Cemetery. A celebration of Jon’s life will take place at the Greenwood Village Clubhouse at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6. It is located at 830 Village Club Road, Sagamore Hills, OH 44067.
Jon was born in Shawano on March 26, 1939, and attended Bonduel High School. At age 16, he won a Ford Foundation scholarship and went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study chemical engineering. While at the university, he completed two years of Air Force ROTC. He graduated in four years and obtained a position with Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio) at the Warrensville Research Center in 1960.
On June 18, 1960, Jon and Marilyn began 66 years of marriage.
At the research center, Jon helped pilot the oxidation of propylene to acrolein and later developed latex paints and polyacrylonitrile packaging film. On leave of absence from 1966-69, he earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering and a doctorate in macromolecular science from Case Institute of Technology (now CWRU).
He went into management and held positions including manager at Kennecott Copper Mine, president of Colonial Pipeline, general manager of Marine Transportation, director of development engineering and information sciences laboratory. At the end of his career, he was director of the Sohio BP Research and Development Laboratory in Warrensville Heights.
Flying was his passion; he obtained his pilot’s license in 1962 and bought a Cessna 182 in 1982. He used his plane to visit his extended family in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Maryland and Georgia, as well as go on adventures flying up canyons in the Rockies.
Jon retired at the age of 53 and became an entrepreneur by making his flying hobby into a business. He formed Skywatch Inc. in 1992 and contracted to fly over pipelines looking for leaks and unauthorized digging. He was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).
Always an adventurer, he traveled to all 50 states and 19 different countries. He loved planning unique family vacations: rafting down the Colorado river, fishing in Canada, rafting down the Selway River in Idaho on the outfitters trial run, encounters with bears and wolfs while driving to Alaska, taking a seaplane to a cabin on a lake on an island that had more grizzly bears than people, and snorkeling in Hawaii and Mexico.
Marilyn and Jon were invited to Korea where Marilyn was privileged to christen an oil tanker at the Hyundai Corporation shipyard.
He was an avid gardener, bicyclist and fisherman. In 2002, he helped create the Greenwood Village community garden. He led his family on bike camping trips across Wisconsin and Ohio Amish country and pedaled with his nephew David around the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan and biked across the south of France with his friend Dave.
Jon loved taking his small boat on Lake Erie with his buddies and coming home with perch and walleye for dinner or spending winters fishing off his boat in Cape Coral Florida.
He served over 30 years on the board of Greenwood Village and led the creation of the current architectural rules for Greenwood as chair of the architectural committee.
He was a videographer before there was video, presenting his Super8 films as part of the Sohio Speakers’ Bureau.
He shared his parents’ love for God and brought up his family to share his deep faith.
He loved singing in the choir and served on the board of elders. He was also known for his sense of humor and loved practical jokes. He provided a warm home for his family filled with love and laughter.
