Gift 
Marian Kline
Marian Kline was a Saint Louis Zoo volunteer docent for over 30 years. She adopted the Zoo into her family, which her husband and children fully supported for the joy it gave her.
When Marian passed away, her daughter didn't just mail a check from her mother's estate to the Zoo - she called to see when she could come to deliver it in person. She did just that, saying, "This is a happy day. As executor of Mom's estate, my duty of making her final gift to the Zoo means a lot to our family, and we look forward to coming here often to remember her at a place she loved and who loved her."
One of the highlights of Marian's volunteer work at the Zoo was being a "gorilla grandma." In 1988, a western lowland gorilla named Kivu gave birth to Mshindi. Kivu, though interested in her new baby, was an inexperienced mother and was unable to master the skill of nursing her newborn.
So a plan to hand-raise Mshindi was hatched. Caring for a baby gorilla is no small task, but one Marian and several fellow docents readily took on. Much like human babies, these infant gorillas needed affection, feeding, diaper changes and playtime. The docents' job for a few years in the evenings - between keeper shifts - was to help Mshindi, and then soon after Juma and Nne, develop into well-adjusted juveniles who could successfully rejoin their adult gorilla group.
Marian's daughter shared that her mom did what most grandmothers did when they met someone new: She showed photos of her grandchildren. And in the mix of grandchildren was a photo of Mshindi! How lucky he was to be adopted by Marian that way and for the Zoo family to have such a wonderful docent and Heritage Society member as Marian Kline to remember with heartfelt gratitude and love.
