Andris “Andy” Kleinhofs was born Dec. 25, 1937, in Dobele, a village in the small country of Latvia. His wife, Jolanta, who he would later meet as an adult in the United States, coincidentally was born in the same village four years after him.
As children, they separately traveled similar refugee paths during the World War II and grew up in Displaced Person camps in Europe before emigrating to the U.S. with their families. Andy’s family settled in Clearwater, Okla., and after earning his Bachelor of Science at the University of Nebraska, he entered the U.S. Army, where he served four years until September 1962, rising to the rank of Captain.
Andy went on to obtain his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, and it is there he met his wife at a youth swimming party. Andy said they were “destined for each other.” They fell in love and were married June 4, 1965, and had two daughters, Laura, and Anita.
After Andy obtained his Ph.D., the family arrived in Pullman in 1967, where he began his 43-year career at Washington State University teaching and conducting research in basic plant science and molecular genetics of barley. During his time there, he published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals and was widely recognized as an international leader in plant science and molecular genetics. He spent time in research labs during sabbaticals in Mol, Belgium; Canberra, Australia; Cambridge, England; and As, Norway. His love of travel and passion for finding the best fishing took him to many additional countries including Japan, Jordan, China, New Zealand and many countries in Europe.
Andy was a generous and supportive father and husband, who also enjoyed camping and mushrooming in the northwest region, as well as many trips to Hawaii with the family.
Andy was diagnosed with cancer in November of 2020 and his last months were spent with visits from former colleagues, students, friends and family. He was fortunate enough to celebrate his 84th birthday last Christmas, and died peacefully at his home May 9, surrounded by his children and after a phone call with his older sister, Parsla Pruitt. He is survived by his daughters, Laura Kleinhofs (with husband Andrew Mattice) and Anita Neill; and grandchildren Aija and Andrei Mattice.
Andy was preceded in death by his wife, Jolanta; his parents; a brother, John Kleinhofs; and a son-in-law, Mark Neill.
Andy will be laid to rest at 10:30 a.m. May 28 at the Pullman Cemetery, and those who would like to attend virtually may do so by livestream at the following link, hdezwebcast.com/show/andy-kleinhofs.
Corbeill (formerly Kimball) Funeral Home of Pullman is in charge of the arrangements. Memorial donations are suggested to the World Wildlife Foundation or to the CAHNRS department of WSU. Online condolences may be sent to corbeillfuneralhomes.com.
