Willi's Ski & Snowboard Shops founder was successful athlete, teacher and businessman

His name is well-known, appearing on signs for the winter sports shops he owned around the region and for the earworm of a yodel that popped up on local radio for years with a sing-songy “WI-EEE-LIs.”

Wilhelm “Willi” Klein was an athlete, teacher and businessman who founded Willi’s Ski & Snowboard Shops. At its peak, the company had seven locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania and one in Washington, D.C., and employed 350 people.

Klein, who had homes in Seven Springs and The Villages, Fla., died of heart failure on April 21. He had just celebrated his 90th birthday on March 15 with family and friends. He skied until he was 85, his family said.

Klein was born in Kufstein, Austria, on March 15, 1933. The town, a rail hub, was a bombing target during World War II.

“When the bombs would fall, he and his buddies would run up to the hills to hide and they would be at eye level with planes coming down the valley,” said his oldest son, Greg Klein.

Always on the move, the elder Klein played professional soccer for 10 years and won the city ski championship eight times. He would work in Switzerland and catch the overnight train to play a soccer game and then return on the evening train to go back to work.

Klein was in his early 20s when he began to work as a ski instructor in Lech and Mayrhofen, Austria.

Eventually, he moved to New Hampshire when a friend and fellow Austrian, Egon Zimmerman, a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist, hired him to teach at a resort.

It was there that he met his wife, Linda, in a story that reads like a page from a romantic comedy.

“My mom was from Boston and was dating this other guy,” Greg Klein said. “In those days, you had a hope chest and then you got the engagement ring. And he said, ‘I have a big surprise for you.’ And he bought her skis on a skiing lesson.”

The couple married and eventually an opportunity opened up in Indian Lake, Somerset County.

“The gentleman who pitched it said it was a great opportunity and you could do your own thing, so they said, ‘Why not, let’s roll the dice.’ But the pitch may have been a little bigger than initially stated,” Greg Klein said. “It wasn’t just an opportunity to run a ski school at a shop — it was also selling tickets, a day care, marketing. That’s how the family started a ski shop. Not because we wanted to open one, but because they literally gave him everything to start one.”

When Klein opened the first ski shop in Western Pennsylvania, the area was hardly known for the sport, Greg Klein noted. Still, his parents were willing to take a gamble.

In 1970, the Kleins opened their first Willi’s Ski and Snowboard Shop in Castle Shannon. Eventually it would grow to eight stores, including a popular shop in Monroeville.

Greg said his parents and uncle, Fred Klein, would often be on the floor chatting with shoppers.

“My dad was always available to all the customers, and he would never wear a nametag,” Greg Klein said. “Someone would say, ‘Hey that guy with the accent did a really great job and took care of me,’ and I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Willi.’”

Today, the company footprint has been consolidated. Shops in Seven Springs, Castle Shannon and Wexford remain open today.

In addition to skiing and business, Klein had an insatiable curiosity and was an avid reader who was passionate about cooking for his family.

“He was tenacious about everything,” his son said. “He was always trying to perfect goulash or schnitzel … he made a bolognese that was the best ever.”

During the covid-19 shutdowns, Klein avoided going into the stores out of concern for his health, but he used the time to practice different dishes.

“He wouldn’t hear of us not being at the family table. I put on so much weight because you get home and he’s like, ‘I made goulash,’ and then tomorrow night we’ll have this and then on Sunday we’ll do that,” Greg Klein said.

“I was lucky to have the time with him.”

Klein is survived by his wife Linda; brother Fred Klein; a son Christopher; and a son Greg Klein, daughter-in-law Kjerstin and two grandchildren, Dylan and Anna.

A celebration of life will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Cefalo’s Banquet and Event Center in Carnegie.