John W. Klug

Legendary Southern California Builder July 18, 1928 – May 10, 2007

John W. Klug, 78, of La Quinta, California and long-time resident of Newport Beach, beloved husband, father and grandfather, died unexpectedly on May 10, 2007 in La Quinta.

John was born in Palm Springs, California on July 18, 1928 to Louise and Frederick Klug. Fred, a stonemason, had a bricklaying business, and, as a teenager, John helped him during the warm Palm Springs summers. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Architecture in 1953, John cut his teeth in Orange County’s building industry at the Macco Corporation, a family-owned company. In 1961, he started Pacesetter Homes, Inc. and went on to become one of Southern California’s legendary builders of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.

As a young dad, John could be seen on Saturdays at the parks in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach with his four children, along with their cousins and friends who all knew him as “Uncle John”. Later, Saturdays were spent riding motorcycles with his boys and their friends at Saddleback Park or the local deserts, or enjoying long weekends with family and friends in Baja, water skiing, duck hunting or off-roading. John was the dad who did the fun things and took everybody along – he was a memory maker.

Besides being a successful businessman and father, John was an expert motorcycle racer, enjoyed car racing and was the owner of numerous cars driven by famous drivers in the Indy and Can-Am series. Watching him race his Cobra at Riverside Raceway or Laguna Seca was seeing the man in his element. Basically, he loved anything fast, and he loved the time spent with friends, family and toys…motorcycles, dune buggies and boats to name a few.

With his wife, Paula, John enjoyed his semi-retirement in La Quinta where he gathered with friends often and could be relied upon to know the next event on their lively social calendar. He took up golf in a big way and made his first and only hole-in-one in 2007. He passed away doing what he loved - playing golf with a friend. Genuine and down-to-earth, John Klug will be dearly missed my many.

John is survived by his wife of 11 years, Paula Klug, his daughter and her husband, Steve and Katherine Klug Zeiser, his son and his wife, Michele and John W. Klug, Jr., his son and his wife, Lynn and Kurt M. Klug, his son and his wife, Sandra and Eric A. Klug, 14 grandchildren, his sister, Mary Klug and her sons, Mike Raphael and Mark Raphael.

Memorial services for John W. Klug will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 19, in La Quinta. Please call 949-717-6687 for further information.

In lieu of flowers, and in keeping with John’s established history of generous giving to the community, contributions can be made to: The Jester & Pharley Phund, P.O. Box 817, Palos Verdes, CA 90274. You can visit their website at www.thejester.org.