John Karr, 96, of Natick, passed away on September 3, 2011.
John was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 25, 1915, the eldest son of Agnes and Peter Karczmarczyk. In 1934, he graduated from Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. He attended Wasakeg summer preparatory school in Maine prior to graduating from Dartmouth College in 1938.
John started his business career in New Hampshire at Nashua Gum and Coated but it was interrupted by his
four-year service in World War II. When he returned from the war, John moved to Ludlow, Massachusetts to develop his father’s Ludlow Coal and Oil business.
His further business pursuits included General Heat in Boston, Axton Cross in Framingham, and Jones Chemical in New York. During his career with Jones Chemical, he was considered a pioneer with his “go green” ecological efforts.
John loved and participated in athletics, especially water sports and tennis. He was President of the Men’s Club at the First Congregational Church in Natick and a member of the Wellesley Dartmouth Club. Being both a Business and English major at Dartmouth, John was an avid reader, prolific writer, and an intriguing storyteller. He had an infectious, jovial spirit wherever he traveled. Many family members and friends embraced that jovial spirit and recalled how John’s “personality and charm could fill a concert hall.”
John met Margaret, his wife, while attending Dartmouth and they married on January 1, 1938. They had three daughters. The late Patricia Laperle lived in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He leaves behind his wife, Margaret at Whitney Place in Natick, Beverley Feeney and her husband Martin in Needham, and Dr. PJ Karr in Natick. John has three grandchildren: Brett Feeney and his wife Dr. Lauren Feeney in Alexandria, Virginia; Dr. Kelly Feeney-Kettler and her husband Dr. Ryan Kettler in Basking Ridge, New Jersey; and Lee Perloff and his wife Catherine in Sterling, Massachusetts. He has one great grandchild, Austin Kettler, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey and one great step-grandchild, Matthew Kelley in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
His wake will be held at the John Everett and Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park St. (at Natick Common), Natick from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 9. The funeral service will be held at the John Eliot Church 45, Eliot St. Natick at 10:30 a.m. on September 10. A private family service will be held at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, New Hampshire on September 17.
Donations may be made directly to John’s resident facility, Newton Wellesley Alzheimer Care, 694 Worcester Road, Wellesley, MA 02482 or the John Eliot Church, 45 Eliot Street, South Natick, MA 01760.