On 8 July 1977 Wilhelm and Lina Klemm signed a will describing their intention to use the revenue from the eventual sale of their home at Theresiengrund 22 for scholarships for students to travel and present their research internationally.
Lina Klemm died on 4 April 1985.
Wilhelm Klemm died on 24 October 1985 while visiting Gdansk for the first time since the war, to receive commemorative medal no. 467 from the Gdańsk University of Technology. His body was returned to Münster, where he is buried in the Münster Central Cemetery, ID 	186397208.
The first scholarships of the Wilhelm-Klemm-Stiftung were awarded in 1987.