Jan. 30, 2002
Edith Mae (Sutherland) Kline-wife of former Notre Dame baseball coach Clarence “Jake ” Kline and surrogate mother to hundreds of Fighting Irish baseball players-died at 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 28 in Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center after an illness, at the age of 95. Friends may call from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. today at McGann Funeral Home (2313 East Edison Road). Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, in South Bend’s Saint Joseph Catholic Church.
Kline was a faithful supporter of her husband’s teams throughout his 42-year Hall of Fame career (1934-75) as head coach of the Notre Dame baseball program and she remained close to countless former players since Jake’s retirement in 1975 (he died on Oct. 15, 1989).
The couple was married in 1924 and is survived by their five children: daughters Carol Martin of Baltimore, Shirley Paris of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Mary ‘Mardi” Spraul of St. Louis, and sons Joseph V. of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Davis A. of South Bend. Edith Kline also is survived by her brother Jarold Sutherland of American Fork, Utah.
Jake Kline was associated with the Notre Dame baseball program for 49 seasons, including four years as a player (1914-17), during which time he was a contemporary of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, and three years as an Irish assistant baseball coach (1931-33). Kline’s teams combined for 558 victories and made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1949-70-highlighted by an appearance in the 1957 College World Series.