Klinghoffer Family Papers

Leon Clifford Klinghoffer was born on September 24, 1916 to Pinchas Klinghoffer (1881-1929) and Lena née Rief (1889-1942). He attended Seward Park High School, graduating in 1933, and Casey Jones Aeronautics School in Newark, New Jersey, graduating in November of 1942 with honors. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as an airplane and engine mechanic from May 1942 until his honorable discharge in January 1944.

Leon Klinghoffer and Marilyn née Windwehr married on September 18, 1949. Marilyn was the daughter of Rose Peterman Windwehr (1903-1998) and Isidor Windwehr (1893-1957), the owner of Windwehr’s Haberdashery Store. Marilyn graduated from East Orange High School in 1944 and earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Drexel University in 1948. She held positions at Abraham & Strauss Department Store, Gimbel Brothers, and Olian Temporary Personnel Agency until she became assistant director of human resources at Gralla Publications. Through her work at Gralla, Marilyn occassionally appeared as a model in magazines.

The Klinghoffers lived in the Lower East Side near the Klinghoffer Supply Company, a hardware store run by the family. In the 1950s, Leon Klinghoffer invented the Roto-Broil Rotisserie Oven and founded the Roto-Broil Corporation of America, where he manufactured electrical appliances.

Marilyn and Leon Klinghoffer had two daughters, Lisa and Ilsa. Later in his life, Leon Klinghoffer suffered two strokes and became wheelchair bound.

In the fall of 1985, Marilyn and Leon Klinghoffer boarded the Achille Lauro cruise ship to celebrate their wedding anniversary. On October 7, 1985, the Achille Lauro was hijacked by members of the Palestinian Liberation Front. American and British passengers were taken as hostages. Wheelchair bound, Leon Klinghoffer was separated from the rest of the group despite Marilyn’s objections. On October 8, he was shot in the head and the chest and thrown overboard with his wheelchair. Marilyn Klinghoffer did not witness the murder and was told that he had been taken to the medical ward. She later found out what had happened. Leon's body was found several days later when it washed ashore at Tartus, Syria. His body was transported to the United States, and he is buried in the Beth-David Cemetery in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

Marilyn Klinghoffer spoke out against terrorism until her death from cancer in February of 1986. Lisa and Ilsa Klinghoffer have carried on their mother’s work through the Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation. Founded in 1985 and merged with the Anti-Defamation League in 1986, the Klinghoffer Foundation supports educational programs, conferences, and legal and legislative actions that respond to terrorism. The foundation also participates in the ADL’s Advanced Training School Course on Extremist and Terrorist Threats and presents the Klinghoffer Award as warranted to an individual or organization that has demonstrated commitment to anti-terrorism efforts.