Rabbi Lawrence Paul Karol

With deep sorrow we are saddened to announce that Rabbi Larry Karol, 70, of Overland Park, KS, died July 5, 2025. Funeral Services will be held at 10:00am, Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah (12320 Nall Avenue, Overland Park, KS). Graveside service to follow at Rose Hill Cemetery (6900 Troost Avenue, Kansas City, MO). Shiva will be held at the Temple at 6:00pm on Wednesday, July 9.
Larry was born on October 3, 1954, to two loving parents, Joseph and Ruth, in Kansas City, Missouri. He and his older brother Stephen were raised in Kansas City. The family was active for many years at The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah, where Larry became a Bar Mitzvah and was confirmed, and was active in the Temple Youth Group. As a child he loved baseball, music, Cub Scouts, the junior choir at the Temple, and listening to WHB Radio.
Larry graduated from Center High School in 1972. He went on to study at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, completing his Bachelor's Degree in 1976. Rabbi Karol was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 6, 1981. In his first year at HUC-JIR he was awarded the Herman Snyder Alumni Award for Academic Excellence. He received an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from HUC-JIR in 2006.
Rabbi Karol served at: Temple Israel in Dayton, Ohio (assistant rabbi from 1981-1984); Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka, Kansas (1984-2006); Temple Israel of Dover, New Hampshire (2006-2011); and Temple Beth-El in Las Cruces, New Mexico (2011-2020). He retired from his position at Temple Beth-El on June 30, 2020, becoming Rabbi Emeritus of the congregation upon his retirement.
During his congregational rabbinate, Rabbi Karol focused on Jewish education, innovative worship, interreligious and multicultural programs, and Jewish musical creativity. He wrote often for the local press, including a monthly column for a weekly newspaper in Las Cruces. He also released three albums of original Jewish music in 2003, 2005 and 2014. Those who would like to explore Rabbi Karol's original compositions and writings can find them on his website: larrykarol.com.
Rabbi Karol was steadfastly devoted to Holocaust remembrance, shaping moving memorial services and educational programs throughout his rabbinate. Through his work on the Kansas State Holocaust Commission (Chair: 1995-2006; Member: 1987-2006, 2024-2025) he ensured that the stories of survivors and the lessons of history would never be forgotten.
During his long career Rabbi Karol was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Local Award of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research (Topeka, KS; 1994), the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil Rights Award (Topeka, KS; 1991), a Community Service Award from the JCRB-AJC of Greater Kansas City (1997), and the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Spiritual Care Award (Dover, NH; 2010). June 25, 2020 was declared "Rabbi Larry Karol Day" in Las Cruces.
He also served on numerous commissions, committees and boards during his rabbinate; to name but a select few of which he was particularly proud: The Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research (Board Member, Secretary: 1988-1996), the New Mexico State University Interfaith Council (Member, President, Executive Advisor: 2011-2025), and Interfaith of Topeka (Program Chair, Vice-President, President: 1986-2003).
Rabbi Karol was a much beloved rabbi. He taught with inspiring passion and critical insight; he fostered meaningful, lasting, authentic relationships with his congregants; he engaged his creativity and his communities' spirits through original music; and he led with moral clarity and a kind heart. Rabbi Karol's generous spirit was a gift to so very many. He was deeply committed and dedicated to his congregational homes, and to the Jewish people.
Larry was a wonderful husband to Rhonda, his wife of 42 years; a doting, proud father to his son, Adam (Rabbi Juliana Schnur Karol); an adoring grandfather of two amazing grandchildren, Joshua and Eva; a loving brother to Rabbi Stephen A. Karol (Donna Karol); a cherished uncle to Samantha Tananbaum (Robert Tananbaum) and great-uncle to their son, Seth; a treasured cousin to so very many. They and Rabbi Karol's other relatives and friends will miss him dearly. He was preceded in death by Joseph in 2002 and Ruth in 2004.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to The Temple, Congregation B'nai Jehudah, or a charity of your choice.