Diane Groome, JMA Chapter Regent, Betty Dechant, Berks County Chapter Regent, Carole Vercellino, JMA Chapter Registrar.

On June 21, 2012, Jose Maria Amador Chapter Regent Diane Groome and Registrar Carole Vercellino, (who are also sisters), marked the gravesite of their original Revolutionary War ancestor, Philip Klein, at the Altalaha Lutheran Church Cemetery in Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania. The Berks County DAR Chapter Regent Betty Dechant presided at the ceremony attended by over 40 DAR members, family, and friends.  The ceremony included a tribute to Philip Klein, who served during the American Revolution as a militiaman from Berks County, by Dr. Robert M. Kline, a descendant of Philip Klein and a member of the Gov. Joseph Heister Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.  The SAR chapter also provided a Color Guard.  At the end of the ceremony, a bugler from Bugles Across America played “Taps,” recognizing Philip Klein’s unselfish service to his country 178 years after his death.

Submitted by: Carole Vercellino