John Michael Kohlway, Jr.

John Michael Kohlway Jr., called Jack by his family, died Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, at the age of 66, just one week shy of his 67th birthday.

Jack was a gentle man who loved his family and thought of them often, even when he hadn’t seen them recently. He was never happier than when he was watching his favorite shows: Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who. He loved to discuss what he was watching, how he felt about it, and what could have been done differently by the show’s writers (many things, according to Jack).

He was a creature of habit who loved Cheez-Its and Coca-Cola, the Olive Garden, and chocolate cake. He had a decades-long running joke with his mother, with whom he lived until her death, that he had already eaten at lunchtime the same thing she had prepared for dinner. (He was legendarily picky about food and there were only a handful of foods he was willing to eat.) He also shared a love of bad puns and silly jokes with his family.

He survived the odds of a rare genetic disorder, 22Q11.2 deletion syndrome, which caused profound hearing loss, severe arthritis, cleft lip and cleft palate, as well as several other disabilities. His parents were advised that he would not live long and that it might be best to institutionalize him, rather than send him to school, but they were not interested in these dire predictions, and Jack went on to graduate from Cardinal Gibbons High School and Catonsville Community College.

Jack was predeceased by his mother and father, Theresa Janocha Kohlway and John Michael Kohlway Sr., as well as his beloved nephew Alexander Arndt-Kohlway, who died unexpectedly in 2021.

He is survived by his four siblings, Christopher Arndt-Kohlway (married to Sandi Arndt-Kohlway, son Nicholas Arndt-Kohlway), Kathryn Robinson (married to Max Robinson, daughter Aleksandra Sandstrom and husband Gregory Sandstrom), David Kohlway (married to Trish Kohlway, son Christopher Kohlway), and Maria Kalbac (married to James Kalbac, daughter Rebecca Kalbac). In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Stella Maris, 2300 Dulaney Valley Rd., Timonium, Md. 21093, where Jack lived at the end of his life.

A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2022, at 11:00 am at St. Ursula Church, 8801 Harford Road. Interment: Holy Rosary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Stella Maris. Online condolences may be sent to  the family at www.evansfuneralchapel.com

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