Paul Stephen Karanevich, a statistician and resident of Lenexa, KS, passed away a month before his 69th birthday due to complications with cancer on Saturday, May 11th, 2024, surrounded by his family.
Graveside Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 at the Lenexa Cemetery, 8805 Pflumm, Lenexa, KS.
Paul is survived by his wife, Reni, his children Alex, Peter, Eric, and Laura and their spouses: Sharon, Madelynne, and Madelaine, respectively. He leaves behind four grandchildren: Ivy, Leo, Anastasia and Nicholas Karanevich. Paul is also survived by his brother, Edward Karanevich, and sister, Janet Dono. He is predeceased by his parents, Stephen and Nina Karanevich.
Paul was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 26th, 1955. He graduated from Pace University in New York with a M.A. in Economics and later from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute with an M.S. in Statistics. His first job was at the World Trade Center with FCIC, and later worked as a statistician for the federal government with various agencies, most recently with the USDA. He married his high school sweetheart, Reni, in 1984 and relocated to Kansas with their six month baby boy, Alex George, in 1990. They welcomed a second son, Peter Ivan, in 1992, and in 1997, twins Eric Douglas and Laura Gwen. His family was his pride and joy.
Paul was a force of nature: he loved to strike up conversations with anyone and everyone. He wanted to know his children's friends, and their friend’s friends. He loved connecting with people. He was a great gift giver and he chose clothing colors that he thought would complement everyone’s features best…and they did! His daughter- in-laws joke that he knew their tones and undertones well. He also loved animals, including the late family cat Tux, whom he could be caught boxing with.
Paul was also known for his avid love of Costco. Going there was always an adventure for him. He would come back home with groceries enough to feed at least a family of 8…even after all the children had moved out.
Paul was also a connoisseur of popular music from the 1950s onward. He was an original follower of Pink Floyd, starting with Dark Side of the Moon, and was most recently obsessed with the music group Blur.
Paul was also a gifted athlete: he won the medal for being the fastest runner at a long distance track meet in high school at age 14, and continued his athletic pursuits by participating in Cosmos Weight training as a young adult. He was a baseball coach for his children growing up, and later was active in spin classes, playing pickleball with his wife and friends, and hiking fourteener’s with his children. He loved the mountains of Colorado and loved visiting his son Peter and his family out there.
Even though Paul had many talents, hobbies and awards, his greatest trophies were his wife and family. He loved them fiercely and loved them to the end.