Constantine Andrew Karnavas

Constantine "Gus" A. Karnavas

Gus Karnavas passed away on January 30, 2025, at home in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania.

Gus was born November 27, 1929, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and spent his early life with his mother and father, Sophia and Andrew Karnavas, two brothers, Jack and George, and his sister, Emily. He spent his early years helping his father grow the family business and attended high school in Ambridge Pennsylvania. He later went on to graduate from Harvard University in 1952 and Harvard Law School in 1955. After law school, he served two years in the US Army as a member of the Counter Intelligence Corps. at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

During his college years, he met the love of his life, Alice Zacharias. The two later married in 1958. Soon thereafter, they moved to Philadelphia and Gus joined the legal department at Smith Kline & French (now GalaxoSmithkline). They had three sons together, Mark, Stefan, and Andrew.

After spending nearly 30 years at Smith Kline where he rose to Assistant General Counsel (and General Counsel for Menley & James, a subsidiary), Gus retired in 1986. During the late 1970’s, he served on the Board of Trustees at Chestnut Hill Academy where his sons attended primary school.

Gus was enthusiastic about education and led a life of continual learning. He was a voracious reader, often reading multiple books at the same time. He was curious about how everything worked and was an avid problem solver. He liked to get his hands dirty with ambitious projects around the house with his three sons. He was a strong believer in self-reliance and was very passionate about politics. He enjoyed a lively debate.

Gus liked nature and being outdoors and was fond of his walks in the Wissahickon Valley and along Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill, where he walked his favorite dog, Brandy.

Gus is survived by his three sons and six grandchildren, Aliki, Maria, Lily, Ben, Clayton, and Alexander.

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Services will be private.

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