John B. Kalanik Jr.

John B. Kalanik, Jr. was a devoted husband and father, a great friend, an avid sailor, and an entrepreneur who built a successful software engineering firm.

John is survived by his wife of 37 years, Lynn (née Guthrie), and his sons, John Kalanik (Julia) and Michael Kalanik. He is also survived by his granddaughter, Olivia; sister Karen Tennant (Scott) and brother David Kalanik; uncle David Rojas (Norma); and sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father, John; his mother, Liliana Kalanik Costa (née Rojas); and an infant brother, Mark. John loved his family deeply.

John was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the middle child of John and Liliana. The family moved throughout the United States and the Dominican Republic while John Sr. worked as a construction engineer. They also spent summers in Costa Rica with Liliana's family.

John's family settled in Jacksonville, Illinois. He graduated from Routt Catholic High School where he played football. John earned a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He worked his way through school at Murphy's Pub and was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

John began his career at Tucson Electric Power. He moved into nuclear engineering at Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while earning his Master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh. John went on to work in software engineering for Sargent & Lundy in Chicago, Illinois.

John and Lynn moved to Chicago and married in 1988. John became a proud father when they welcomed their first son, Jack, in 1994 and their younger son, Mike, in 1997.

John and his partners founded InStep Software in 1993, building the firm into a leading provider of big data solutions to the power utility industry. Over the next 25 years, John traveled extensively across the US and Asia, England, Europe and South America growing the business. In 2015, John and his partners sold the company to Schneider Electric. John continued consulting work in engineering.

John shared a love for sailing with Lynn, which started on their first boat, a 25' outboard sailboat on Lake Erie. His hobby evolved into a passion for racing with a team of accomplished sailors. Together, they competed in the Race to Mackinac over a dozen times on his beloved 36' J-boat, Pura Vida.

John and Lynn raised their two sons, Jack and Mike, in downtown Chicago; they were his greatest joy. He was proud of their academic, athletic, and professional accomplishments, yet he was most proud of the men they have become. John recently welcomed his first grandchild, Liv, Julia and Jack's daughter, and spent many happy hours cuddling her.

Visitation Monday, December 8, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Michalik Funeral Home, 1056 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60642. Family and friends will meet on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at St. Josaphat Catholic Church, 2311 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614 for a 9:30 a.m. Visitation followed by a 10:30 a.m. Funeral Mass.

In keeping with John's generosity and love of dogs, donations may be made to PAWS Chicago, www.pawschicago.org, 773-475-4242.

For further information please call Michalik Funeral Home at 312-421-0936.