Ways of Life: In business and life, his accent was on quality
Also remembered: A tour guide who relished retirement; a 23-year veteran of CMPD; a history professor who worked to preserve historic landmarks; the president of JP Orleans Homes
You’re reading Ways of Life, a weekly obituaries newsletter from The Charlotte Ledger honoring our friends, neighbors and family members who made an impact on Charlotte through the ways they lived their lives.
Many Charlotteans knew Kal Kardous from his radio ads, but his story was bigger than airwaves, as an immigrant who found success following his business dreams
Kal Kardous passed away at 81. The founder of Charlotte Copy Data, he loved to hear other people’s stories and to share his own. (Photo contributed by the family)
By Darrell Horwitz
Khalil “Kal” Kardous had a dream, and in 1971, he moved to Charlotte to start making that dream come true. His story began in Damascus, Syria, in 1942 and led him to the U.S. at what was then the University of Wisconsin–Platteville and later Skokie, Ill., before warmer weather and the growing city of Charlotte beckoned him to a new home ripe with opportunities for a dreamer like him.
His adventure ended on August 2 at 81, but there is still a tale to be told.
While at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, his entrepreneurial abilities surfaced while his salesmanship smoothed over what could have been a sticky situation.
The college had an international fair and asked people to showcase where they were from. As told by his son, Paul Kardous, Kal’s mother had just visited the Jordan River and sent him a bottle of Jordan River water as a kind of blessing. People kept asking Kal, “Where can I get Jordan River water?” So he filled up the bathtub with water and poured in the Jordan River water. He then went to a pharmacy and bought several small bottles and filled them up. At 50 cents a bottle, they sold like hotcakes.
The next day, the local Catholic priest came and asked him, “Are you Khalil? I hear you’re my competition now for holy water in town.” While he wasn’t initially happy about the situation, they talked about it over a drink and became great friends.