A master gardener known for his deep commitment to horticulture and longtime volunteer work at congregational and community gardens throughout the region, Lawrence Martin Kloze died last Sunday, Mar. 5. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 83.
A member of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and a 1958 University of Maryland graduate, Kloze became a master gardener after retiring from the antiques field in the early 1990s. He was trained through the University of Maryland Extension’s (UME) Master Gardener program and enjoyed passing on his skills to other gardening enthusiasts in the area.
“I really believe in simplicity and self-sufficiency, and it’s been my life’s practice,” Kloze, a Baltimore native, said in a UME article from 2012. “I became a master gardener, and I gave those skills to other people so they too could become more self-sufficient.”
In another interview that aired on a cable network affiliate, Kloze — who ran for Baltimore City Council in the 5th District in 1979 and was narrowly defeated — said he felt passionately about keeping active during one’s retirement years and directing energies toward community service.
“I think everybody is active in their retirement one way or another,” he said. “You should be giving back to other people in your retirement. All of those years that you didn’t have the time to help others — now is the time.”
Among Kloze’s projects in the area were the creation and maintenance of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation’s communal garden and Temple Oheb Shalom’s Gan Chiae, named in honor of the late local community activist Chiae Herzig. Most of Gan Chiae’s produce benefits nonprofits that help food-insecure individuals in the area.
“People feel so good about themselves when they go to Whole Foods or the farmers’ markets,” Kloze told The Sun in a 2006 profile. “They think they’re doing their bit by buying fresh produce when really they should be growing their own food. I have a goal of helping people to be self-sufficient. That’s a tough goal right now because things are too good. But during the wars in Yugoslavia, the people who were in Sarajevo survived by wood heat and by food growing and preservation. It’s good to be able to control your destiny.”
Kloze was a co-founder of the Mount Washington Community Vegetable Garden and chaired the Baltimore City Community Gardens program. In addition, he graced the cover of a 1991 edition of Sun Magazine.
“When you garden, you should give something to the poor,” Kloze said. “I’m busier now than I’ve ever been in my life, and I look at my volunteering as a business. I work hard to do good and create opportunities to be helpful. I work hard at it.”
When he spoke to gardening groups throughout the metropolitan area, Kloze noted that he and his wife, Vicki, always believed in a simple, unencumbered lifestyle throughout their marriage, which included growing their own produce, chopping their own wood for home heating, buying used clothes at thrift shops, making their own home repairs and improvements, and rarely eating out at restaurants.
“My wife and I saw eye to eye from the beginning about our lifestyle,” Kloze said. “We could be happy with a little and have freedom in our lives. It’s really been a wonderful life.”
In his spare time, Kloze enjoyed owning and maintaining his vintage motorcycle, a 1970 BMW R60/5.
Kloze is survived by his wife of 56 years, Vicki Kloze (nee Isenstein); children Gideon Kloze, Sarah Kloze (Matt Krajewski), Rachel (Mike) Mincin, Max (Lacee) Kloze, and Abraham (Jen) Kloze; sister Barbara Shapiro; and grandchildren Ethan Mincin, Leah Mincin, Matthew Kloze, Ezra Kloze, and Benjamin Kloze. He was predeceased by his parents, Rose and Alexander Kloze.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Mar. 8, at noon at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery, 2100 Belair Rd. in Baltimore. Contributions in Kloze’s memory may be sent to Cylburn Arboretum Friends, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21209, or the Eric Waller Mount Washington Community Garden, c/o Naomi Rosner, 5719 Cross Country Blvd., Baltimore, Maryland 21209.
The family will be receiving at 5606 Merville Ave. in Baltimore following the funeral service.
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