Karauri Thuranira

It is with both great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Karauri Mwonge Thuranira, father, grandfather, son, husband, brother and a friend of many, after a short battle with illness.

Kar, as he was known to most and many in the Greenwood, Indiana community, was born in Meru, a village ‘on the slopes Mount Kenya’ in Kenya on August 1^st, 1966, often citing to both family and friends, with great pride, his Kenyan heritage. Kar came to the United States in 1992 to study at the University of Evansville, from which he graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Accounting. It was during this time of studies, Kar fell into the care and support of the Trockman Family of Evansville, Indiana, who Kar often recalled in his memories of those times with great fondness and nostalgia.   

After his graduation, Kar found himself working in the food services industry, which eventually brought him to Greenwood, Indiana. Kar, after a time of much hard labor, became the longtime General Manager of the Bob Evans’ restaurant of Greenwood, Indiana.   During this time, Kar would meet the person, a near daily patron, who eventually would become his wife, Kathleen.   After many years with the organization and much success, Kar joined the Denny’s organization, where he ended his professional career, at the Keystone Avenue store in Indianapolis, with much celebrated success.   

When not working and striving for excellence in his profession, Kar would annually plant a garden in his backyard plot growing tomatoes, pumpkins, eggplant and many other vegetables and fruits, to both eat and share with friends and family.  Those of us connected with Kar on social media would often be surprised by many pictures he posted of the bounty of his garden.  Kar took great joy in sitting on his patio, watching and feeding the many birds and rabbits that would visit his beautifully cultivated garden.  In his last several years of life, Kar and his wife, Kathy, often enjoyed, time permitting, exploring America by driving across country visiting family and sites of interest.  Those of us in the Chicagoland area often took great amusement with Kar’s interest of what he would playful call ‘Cookie County’, in reference to the city of Chicago and Cook County, the county which the city resides in.     

Kar is survived by his mother Sabela, wife Kathleen, daughter Karimi, sister Paulina, stepsons Ron, John and Thomas, and his six step grandchildren, who knew him as the beloved ‘Papa Kar’.