Kliger, Paul I. (1911-2000) | University of Illinois Archives

Paul I. Kliger (1911-2000) was born on June 1, 1911, in Mount Vernon, New York. The son of Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia, Paul played drums in his school band and orchestra and claimed that he honed his technique observing drummers in the orchestra pits of New York’s Yiddish theater. In his twenties, Paul played professionally with jazz bands in the Catskills, and on steamers to Cuba and Panama.

In 1939, he decided to enroll in college. He was accepted at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and began his studies. When World War II began, Paul enlisted in the U.S. Army. He played in the U.S. Army Band and  worked in the army's Public Relations Office. Edna Ruth Schaeffer of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (the WAACs) was assigned to his office as his secretary. Three months later, they were married and Paul was deployed to France with the U.S. Army Band. As a quartermaster, he was responsible for storing the instruments. He also managed supplies for the troops and was active with support services on D-day-4. In 1946, Paul returned with Ruth  to continue his studies at Illinois, and earned a Master's Degree in Social Work. Paul spent most of his working life in Chicago in community organization for the Illinois Department of Mental Health. In 1997, he and Ruth moved to Louisville, Colorado to be near their elder daughter. Paul’s health was declining, but he lived to greet the new millennium. Paul passed away in March 2000.