Obituary of Kenneth Gordon Pauwels

Kenneth Gordon (Ken) Pauwels passed away on December 3 after a yearlong illness surrounded by his four surviving siblings: his brothers, Michael and Larry, and two sisters Mary Abaray and Catherine Stradtner. Ken was preceded in death by his sister Christine Pauwels and brother Leo.

Ken was born in South Bend, Indiana on April 17, 1939, the eldest of the seven children of Gerard and Irene Pauwels. Showing unusual promise, he started school early. Throughout his formal schooling, it had always been his habit to read his textbooks from cover to cover before the school year started. (His classmates were known to have called him “Professor.”)  He may have been an indifferent student, but he was always the consummate scholar. Our father often said, “Know something about everything, and everything about something.”  Ken, however, knew everything about every interest he pursued, and his curious mind stretched everywhere.

Grades were not important to him as he passed through High School and Valparaiso Technical College, but in the Navy, grades brought privileges, so at Great Lakes Training Center, he graduated top of his class. As an excellent electronics technician he transferred from Destroyer to Submarine to Nuclear Submarine, mastering all the qualification requirements.

After the Navy, Ken entered Purdue University, earning a BS in Economics Cum Laude, and supporting himself as a television broadcast engineer. There he met Marie McCormick whom he married in 1968, a marriage of 56 years. Ken and Marie moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, their permanent home base, and while continuing his post-graduate studies, Ken worked at UNC in various technical positions in the Radio and Television Department and in the Psychometric Lab as assistant professor and resident Guru. With the advent of computers, Ken found a new passion. He assumed the task of putting several areas of the university online with the rest of the world. He used to describe himself as the “head elf in the toyshop.”

When invited to continue his academic work for a PhD, he chose to apply his knowledge and analytical mind to investment strategies in the stock market. Over the years, he had a number of successes which afforded him the means to donate generously to school, charities, and family members. He willingly shared his analyses with anyone who asked.

Marie and Ken had one son, Daniel Gerard, in 1977. Dan had been blessed with his father’s and mother’s exceptional intelligence and was gifted in music and sports. He had very bright prospects, but his life was cut short by a traffic accident in 1999. Ken cared for Marie at home for years until his own health started to affect his ability to continue, at which time he found an excellent memory care facility for her.

But the biggest tragedy is the loss of Ken himself, and here, words fail us, He was a phenomenon, a man among men.  With great animation he would discuss any subject: the Hundred Years’ War, every pitch in a pitcher’s repertoire [and how to throw it], WWII, The Big Band Era, the state of the union, The Tarheels, White Sox…. You get it. And thank you, Kenny, for putting penny candy in our socks.

Arrangements are in the care of Walker’s Funeral Homes in Chapel Hill, NC. Online condolences may be shared at https://www.walkersfuneralservice.com.