Kenneth J. ‘G Man’ Karawski

NASHUA – Kenneth "G Man" Karawski, 62, passed on peacefully on January 14 2016, at Mass General Hospital Boston, MA, after a long and courageous battle with leukemia. Born May 16, 1953 in Nashua, NH, Ken was the son of Daniel Karawski, co-founder of Alpine Grove and Dan’s Drive In, and Marion (Sedlewicz) Karawski. He is survived by his brother Michael "The Brain" Karawski of Concord, MA; and sister Kathy Karawski of Nashua, NH. He graduated with the Class of 1971 at Nashua High School. In his early work years, Ken worked with Dave"Bear"Dionne a very close and lifelong dear friend. They were often on the road together delivering and setting up furniture. Ken was very appreciative of Bear’s superb driving skill and was extremely grateful to "Bear" for driving him to and from Mass General Hospital in Boston for his medical treatment. A voracious reader, Ken liked to read the newspaper cover to cover, usually reading every single word. He especially loved the Boston Globe, often enjoying it with a fresh hot cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee. Friends would joke that he was a member of the 50 year Dunkin Donuts coffee drinkers club! His mastery of reading the classified ad sections enabled him to find exceptional deals, including: real estate, antiques, artwork, farm and garden implements, tractors, woodworking tools, wood stoves, riding lawn mowers and snowblowers. He also had an incredible and vast selection of debonair clothing. Ken mastered the fine art of woodworking, carpentry and all aspects of metal fabrication including welding, grinding, sanding, painting and polishing. Great joy and pleasure was derived from working on and restoring cars, trucks, lawn mowers, tractors and small machinery. Dear family friend Philip "Pervis" Dabilis was noted to say "Ken could take an ‘OLD BONE’ and restore it to a fine running machine."

A connoisseur and lover of fine food, Ken mastered the art of barbeque and grilling, kapusta soup, Polish galumkis, kielbasa, as well as spaghetti sauces and chicken cacciatore dishes. He loved to cook and entertain friends and family members and cherished holiday events and Sunday Football gatherings. Ken especially loved ice cream, fresh pies and homemade cakes. His favorite creameries included: Lockes, Kimballs, Annabelle’s, Jordan’s, Doc Davis, Haywood’s, Butch’s and of course Dairy Queen! One of his greatest pride and joys was enjoying the chicken pot pie at the Modern Restaurant, followed up by the grape nut custard pudding for dessert. Ken absolutely loved this! He was always in pursuit of the freshest and tastiest whoopie pie. His passion for fine food was so devoted, he would often drive for hours in search of culinary delights. This brings to mind a road trip to Rockport, Maine, an easy "4 hour lunch trip" with his brothers Mike "Brain" Karawski and Nick "Joe Hollywood" Tamposi to the Brass Lantern Restaurant. Gorging themselves on the famous lobster club sandwich, the road trip ended in"Satiated Lobster Bliss!" Fond memories include driving up to Newicks Restaurant in Newington, NH, in Philip "Pervis"Dabilis’s 1963 Chrysler Imperial loaded with friends enjoying and stuffing themselves on the fried fisherman’s platter. Ken’s favorite eateries included the Modern, Rosebud, Hilltop, the Causeway in Gloucester, Moe’s subs in Portsmouth, Santoro’s Subs, AL’s pizza, the Parthenon, Luigi’s in Bedford, MA, and of course KFC! Known for his keen sense of humor and razor sharp wit, Ken loved playing practical jokes on his Ledge Street School classmate and one of his closest friends Patrick "Packy" Haverfield. Everyone always had a lot of laughs and a good time, followed of course by a few choice beverages! Another great joy and passion of Ken’s was his admiration of 1960s cars. One of his favorite vehicles that he owned was a classic jet black 1963 Buick Riviera. Ken would have taken great pleasure if he had the chance to restore his close friend Ron (Porks) Paul’s 1969 Pontiac Lemans, which to this day still sits in Ken’s garage after more than 25 years! Ken also had a great passion and a keen eye in finding the greatest deals. For instance, he bought a 1995 Buick Lasabre about 10 years ago for $600 dollars. His great pal Philip "Pervis" Dabilis remarked "the previous owners might have gotten the best of it, but now Ken gets the rest of it!" Proud to say that the Buick is still running and on the road today!

Ken was such a kind, compassionate and generous human being, and had great love for all animals including rabbits, squirrels and birds. In his workshop he would often build wooden homes for all the creatures he loved. It gave him great joy to hand feed the animals and the animals reciprocated that love in return. He cherished his pet goat "Nappy," and his favorite red squirrel "Stubby." His love of playing cat and mouse games with his favorite cats "Mew Mew," "Baby Mew" and "Tigers Mew" gave Ken a sense of joy and real contentment. He was always very appreciative and thankful to good friend Mike"Sarge" Poff for creating these unique cat names. Ken was a real giver of his time and talents, and loved to help out friends and family on home improvement projects. Ken took joy and great pride in cutting his own hair and several times created the perfect flat top buzz cut. He also mastered the fine art of whistling and when he hit an extremely high pitched note one knew that he was really feeling "Great!" He cherished his time with his many close friends especially with Steve "Teeb" Longland, Francis "Bird" McFarland and Rusty "Tough Guy" LePine, at his log cabin on Flint’s Pond, which was built by Ken’s grandfather from the log timbers after the hurricane of 1938. An avid lover of the Red Sox, Celtics and the Patriots, Ken was always appreciative of attending live Sox games, many times sitting in the owner’s box or other great seats with his closest friends and comrades (Nick, Mike, Steve, Russ). Ken also loved listening to sports talk show hosts Felger and Mazz. A music lover and pretty darn good bassist, Ken enjoyed a wide array of musical favorites. He loved the Mavericks with Raul Malo, bluegrass legend Del McCoury, Alison Krauss and Union Station with Dan Tyminski, blues artists Jimmy Smith and Robert Cray, country stars Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Strait, and of course the king himself, "Elvis." Having a very keen ear for progressive music Ken had the ability to identify unique and hidden talent long before the artists became known stars. He absolutely loved Stone Mountain Arts Center in Maine.

Ken traveled the road less traveled, often with his best and closest friend Nick "Joe Hollywood" Tamposi. He will be forever grateful for the wonderful memories of the" unique and memorable characters" that he met and encountered along the way!! In the end, he, too, will be remembered as one of the greatest characters of them all!! Ken and his family want to express their sincere gratitude to the doctors, nurses and health care workers at Mass General Hospital in Boston for their kind, devoted and compassionate loving care! Services: Relatives and friends are invited to call on Thursday, January 21 from 4-8 pm at Zis-Sweeney Funeral Home at 26 Kinsley Street, Nashua, NH. Memorial service will be held on Friday, January 22 at 10 am St Louis de Gonzague Church 50 West Hollis Street, Nashua, NH. Followed by burial at St Stanislaus Cemetery, Pine Hill Ave, Nashua, NH. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or American Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals- ASPCA.