Paul Kahn

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, golfer, fisher, master whistler, sudoku and jitterbug expert, and business executive Paul Kahn passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, February 13, 2023, at Harmony Village, Paramus, NJ.
Paul was born in Shanghai, China to Captain Michael and Mrs. Jane Kahn on April 2, 1945. Oldest brother to Lynn, Sandy, and Tim, Paul was an active, mischievous boy. When he was four years old, the family fled from Fu Zhou to Taiwan to escape the Communist Revolution in China. With a bright, curious mind, Paul was always a strong believer in education. Paul received his undergraduate degree in Taipei, Taiwan from and continued his education at St. John's University, New York, earning a Master's in Physics and taught as a Professor's Assistant.
At a St. John's party, Paul met the love of his life, Bonnie. For both, it was love at first sight, and they married two and a half years later.
Six credits short of his PhD, Paul pivoted to follow his father into the shipping industry to provide for his family to be. After a brief stint in operations at Canadian Transport, Paul's sharp analytical mind and charming personality caught the attention of his manager, who promoted him to a ship chartering broker. Paul was one of the best in the business and credited his success to honesty and integrity. Known as "the fixing machine," he opened Lortenzten Chartering's Asia office and eventually became partner of Kahn & Lorentzen in Singapore.
But it wasn't his illustrious shipping career that landed Paul on the cover of Forbes. At the top of his game, Paul decided to retire early. While avidly working on his golf handicap with Bonnie, Paul stumbled into his second career when a Creative Director friend asked him to model. He became the face of Polycom in Asia and was also featured in ads for United Overseas Bank and Eli Lily. Paul and Bonnie eventually found a quieter life in Lake Taupo, New Zealand and later returned to the States to be closer to their family, settling in beautiful Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. In his retirement, Paul continued his passion for education by volunteering to tutor high school students in math, economics, and engineering, enabling them to continue onto university.
Paul is survived by his devoted wife Bonnie; his son, Michael; his daughter, Jennifer; his son-in-law, Marcello Liguori; and his two adoring grandchildren, Mateo and Eva, with whom he loved to play monster tag, take them tubing on his boat, fish, and watch game shows.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Asian Defense Alliance (www.asiandefensealliance.org), a non-profit organization co-founded by Paul's grandson, Mateo, or to the Georgetown Scholars Program (http://gsp.georgetown.edu) a program that provides programmatic support and scholarships to low income and first generation college students.
In Paul's memory, we ask you to tell a joke to someone today to make them laugh and brighten their day. Jokes were Paul's favorite way of connecting with people, and if he could make you laugh, that would make his day!
A Celebration of Paul's lIfe will be held at a later date