John Nicholas Kunak
1951-2017
John Nicholas Kunak, Esq., age 65, passed away peacefully on September 28, 2017 in his home in Castaic. He was born October 14, 1951 in Elizabeth, NJ to his parents Margaret and John Kunak. John lived in a small factory town in New Jersey where he was a faithful member of the St. Elias Byzantine Catholic Church. Every Sunday after church, he visited with his grandparents. John played in all the sports leagues at St. Elias, and also coached the younger members of the congregation in basketball. His love of sports was born.
At the young age of 17, John traveled across the country all by himself to attend the University of Southern California on a full scholarship studying political science. During his undergraduate studies, John also spent a year abroad at the University of London. After receiving his Bachelor degree, John attended Loyola Law School and, while in law school, he studied a semester at Oxford University in England studying conflict analysis. Mr. Kunak graduated from Loyola Law School, passed the California State Bar, and began practicing law, a career in which he would excel for 41 years.
Not long after becoming a practicing attorney, he met the love of his life, Mary Elizabeth Fleming. It is not surprising that they met in a deposition, where they couldn’t take their eyes off one another and spent the next 40 years of life together. Both have not only nurtured wonderful careers in the legal field, John as a civil attorney and Mary as a court reporter, but have shown unwavering support for each other along the way. They spent much of their free time going skiing, going to professional football games and were big fans of the Los Angeles Lakers, attending numerous games during the “Showtime” era. They were married on July 6, 1985 at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Sherman Oaks.
Ten years later, John and Mary’s prayers were answered when their beautiful daughter Kelley was born. Anyone who ever held a conversation with John knew within just a few minutes that his pride for his daughter was unmatched. He coached all her sports teams at the Castaic Sports Complex, volunteered at her schools, attended every single one of her dance performances, and even performed alongside her in some recitals. One of the days that John was most proud of was when Kelley was accepted into USC, his alma mater. A more dedicated father simply does not exist. John was so proud watching his baby girl dance to the songs of the USC band as a USC Song Girl.
His passion for his community took a close second to his love for his family. He was involved in nearly every organization offered within the Santa Clarita and Castaic communities, and served each as President too. He served on the Lions Club, Castaic Education Foundation, Castaic Town Council and Castaic School Board faithfully for nearly two decades. He also sat as a Volunteer Judge at the Santa Clarita Community Court. John also held a position on the USC Parent Engagement Committee while Kelley was a senior at USC and was the Chairman of the Scholarship Committee for the Santa Clarita Alumni Club of USC.
Those of you who worked with John knew that regardless of whether you saw eye-to-eye, he always treated everyone with the utmost respect, considered all sides of each matter, and always aimed to better his town. For his efforts, John was awarded Castaic’s “Man of the Year” and Castaic’s “Volunteer of the Year”, along with being named one of the 51 most influential people in Santa Clarita. Some referred to John as “Mr. Castaic”, because if you ever needed to know what was happening in his town, he always seemed to know the answer.
Something that might be less known is that he possessed quite a knack for blackjack. He has played in numerous blackjack tournaments and formed a tight bond with many of his fellow tournament goers. Trips to Las Vegas, the Tropics, and Atlantic City were even more special when his wife and daughter and sometimes his sister and brother-in-law were able to join in on the fun.
He is survived by his faithful wife Mary and loving daughter Kelley. He was preceded in death by his father and mother John and Margaret Kunak, and his nephew Christopher Candito. He is further survived by his sisters Margaret Rea (Greg) and Kathleen Linkowsky (Andy); Sisters-In-Law, Sharon Fleming, Linda Allan, Trish Reilley (Bill); nephew Bill Reilley, Jr. (Kathleen), niece Amy Durham (Rob), niece Jennifer Allan (Troy); nephew Jonathan Rea (Gina), nieces, Amanda Rea and Amy Rea; nephews, A.J. and Michael Linkowsky; great-nephews Jack and Kevin Reilley; and great nieces, Kelly and Lauren Reilley, Catherine, Caroline, Claire, Colleen, and Caleigh Durham, and Haley Allan.