John Karoly

John Andrew Karoly of Chicago, Illinois, and Pasadena, California, passed away on March 25th, 2024, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, just one month before his 89th birthday.
John was born in Budapest, Hungary on April 25th, 1935. His family's life was upended by Hungary's varying alliances of WWII and the resulting Nazi invasion. As a young child, John was ensconced in the basement of a monastery while his older brother, Gabe, was hidden elsewhere. His immediate family survived the war and returned to life in Budapest. John began university studies in Chemical Engineering in 1954 at the Technical University in Budapest. Life was interrupted, once again, by the student uprising to end the Soviet Union's postwar takeover of Hungary. As an active member of the student uprising, John managed to escape to Vienna, where he lived for several months before securing passage to the United States. His parents and brother followed shortly thereafter, and they were later reunited in New Jersey. John completed his BS in Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
While completing his studies, John worked at Esso Research and Engineering in Linden, New Jersey. He moved to Chicago to work at Chicago Bridge & Iron, becoming Section Head of the Crystallization Division. In 1970, he cofounded HPD Incorporated, becoming its Chairman of the Board. He led HPD until his retirement in 1995. During his tenure, HPD grew from providing engineering for pulp and paper projects in Brazil to one that did complete design and build projects internationally. Two associated companies were formed in Spain and Switzerland and relationships were developed with numerous international partners that resulted in installations on almost every continent for the pulp and paper, mining, chemical, and power and water treatment industries, utilizing the crystallization and evaporation technologies developed in a large Research facility in Plainfield, IL, near the company headquarters in Naperville, IL. John was awarded the Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1992. He procured numerous patents, authored several publications, and lectured at a number of industry symposia.
John met Kerma Train in Chicago in 1971, and they were married in 1974. She remained the love of his life until her passing in 2022. Together, they raised a son, Jonathan, currently of Pasadena, California, who is a cellist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Kerma and John enjoyed frequent trips to visit Jonathan and his three children: Hannah (19), Ian (17) and Eva (17). They also enjoyed their many travels around the globe, friendships, and love of music and the arts. John had a dry sense of humor that sometimes confounded his audience, but certainly didn't leave him deterred in its use. Throughout his life and especially in retirement, John was a voracious reader, particularly of all things science.
Private funeral services have been held for the family in Chicago, and a celebration of his life will be held at a future date.