A 40-year-old Utah Jazz executive who died of a rare form cancer posted an inspiring final message on Friday, imploring readers to view each day as a “license to live” rather than merely passing time.
Caroline Klein, the NBA team’s chief communications officer of three years, recalled her her August 2023 diagnosis hitting her like a truck. The aggressive soft tissue cancer later spread to her lungs, leaving her with few treatment options as she battled stage 4 proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma.
“But, being the pragmatist I am, my attitude from the start was, ‘it’s what it is,’ and instead of wasting any time obsessing about how not to die, I spent my cancer journey focusing on how to live the fullest life as much as I could control,” Klein wrote on LinkedIn. “And boy, did I live.”
Caroline Klein, chief communications officer for Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Utah Jazz, posted a poignant final message Friday following her multiyear battle with stage 4 proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma.
Caroline Klein, chief communications officer for Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Utah Jazz, posted a poignant final message Friday following her multiyear battle with stage 4 proximal-type epithelioid sarcoma.
LinkedIn.com/carolinejoklein/
Klein’s poignant message, titled “Remember me for the way I lived,” urged readers to seize moments while they can, despite whatever unexpected obstacle arises.
“If you’re reading this, it’s because my lungs have taken their final breath, and my soul is on a thoughtful search for its next great adventure,” she wrote, explaining that she instructed her family to post the message upon her death.
Klein said she drove an “F1 car full speed” from diagnosis to death, seeking out “laughter, beauty, love, joy, adventure, and awe at every turn,” while spending as much time as possible with loved ones, including her husband, Mike Gartlan.
“With that, do I wish I was able to live another several decades?” Klein’s post continued. “Of course. But, I absolutely loved my life and wouldn’t have changed a thing. It was an amazing run filled with opportunities to push myself to my limits and feel more alive than ever, as well as times that took me to the bottom and made me dig deep into my soul’s legacy of being a warrior spirit to channel an infallible resilience and overcome incredibly hard things.”
Ryan Smith, chairman and CEO of Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), which owns the Jazz, said Utah “lost a legend yesterday” while sharing Klein’s LinkedIn post.
“She was truly one of a kind,” Smith wrote Friday on X. “Ash and I and the rest of the SEG team will miss her every single day. She left us a post to read after her passing, a lasting gift and part of her wisdom. Working with CK was a highlight of my career. Her presence — and all she shared — Miss you already CK.”
While working for the Jazz, Klein focused on strategic communications, community relations and broadcasting, as well as coordination of large-scale marketing initiatives. In 2024, she was named to Sport Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list for her efforts. She joined the team following more than 15 years of industry experience, including a decade with the Preferred Hotel Group in Newport Beach, California.
Klein, who graduated from Boston University with a degree in journalism, previously worked at several public relations agencies in New York and Chicago, team officials said in 2022. She also served as the chief communications officer for the Utah Mammoth and played a pivotal role in launching the expansion NHL franchise last year.
“I want everyone to remember me for the way I lived, not the way I died,” Klein’s post continued. “And with that in mind, will you do me a favor? Keep asking yourself ‘why not?’ and ‘why wait?’ and pursue all of your dreams with an unapologetic determination. We only have one life to live, and it’s on you to live it to the fullest. So please, try to see every day as a license to LIVE, not just pass the time.”
Klein pleaded with her beloved partner to do the same.
“To my wonderful husband, Mike, thank you for helping me do it all right until the end,” she wrote. “You loved me fiercely, embraced my wildness, and supported my dreams without hesitation. Now, it’s time for you to go live another great act in this life until we meet again in the next.”