Albert H. ("Al") Klassen was born in Chinook, Montana in December 1917, and moved with his family to Dallas, Oregon, at age 6. Following his graduation from Dallas High School, he attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. While at Willamette, he worked at Montgomery Ward, where he met Delma Jean Jones. The two married in May 1941. During World War II, Klassen briefly served in the U.S. Coast Guard before joining the Navy. From 1943 to 1944, he served in the South Pacific as a line officer on the attack transport USS Carina. Later, he served as a supply officer at the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland, California. Following the war, he worked for Rogue River Hardware in Grants Pass, Oregon. Klassen died in January 2002.

Delma Jean ("DJ") Jones was born in April 1918 in Fallon, Nevada, and moved with her family to Gresham, Oregon, at age 6. She attended Willamette University, and after graduating married Albert Klassen. During World War II, she worked for the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps and at the Oakland Army Base in Oakland, California. She and Albert had three children: Suzanne, Bruce, and Alan. She died in Portland, Oregon in August 2016.

Suzanne Klassen, daughter of Albert and Delma Jean Klassen, co-owned the Grace Peck House in Portland, Oregon from 1978 to 1985. The house, which was built in 1891, derives its name from Oregon state legislator Grace Olivier Peck, who lived there from 1937-1977. The house is also known as the Buckler-Henry House and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.