Kenneth Woodrow Slack

Kenneth Woodrow Slack, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and proud United States Army Veteran, passed away in Chicago, Illinois, on July 15, 2026. He was preceded in death by his parents, Perry and Harriet Slack of Ohio, his younger siblings, Karen Haines and Fredrick Slack, and his granddaughter Camilla Sanna Gavazzoni.

His light and legacy is carried on by his beloved wife Geraldine (Sanna) Slack, his three daughters and their husbands, Nicole Gable (Andrew), Kristin Gavazzoni (Christopher), and Monica Szabo (Jason), and six adored grandchildren who live more like siblings than cousins, bear his likeness, inherited his sense of humor, and brought endless joy and pride to his life: Grace Geraldine Gable, Theodore Easton Gavazzoni, Elaine Kathleen Szabo, Thomas Robert Gable, Louis Woodrow Gavazzoni, and Claire Slack Szabo.

Born on May 30, 1940 in Piqua, Ohio, Ken attended Piqua High School and The Ohio State University. He served overseas in the U.S. Army and then moved to South Bend, Indiana, where he met the love of his life, Geri Sanna, and convinced her to marry him. A decision, he often noted, that was the best one of his life.

Ken was a builder. He built homes, grocery stores, housing developments, apartment complexes, and his own personal masterpiece, a house on Kern Road where he and Geri raised their three daughters. The Kern Road House embodied the essence of Ken-from the choice of eclectic materials used to construct it, to the interior décor, and the apple orchard surrounding it. It was there, on Kern Road, where he and Geri built a home that became so much more than shelter.

The doors were never locked. It was impractical to dole out enough keys to accommodate a constant flow of extended family and children's friends who were welcome and present day and night. A home where people felt invited and wanted.

The artwork was a mix of treasures gathered from trips, auctions, and created by the hands of relatives, his children, and grandchildren. An oil painting next to a finger-painting. Both framed and prominent. A home celebrating beauty and expression of all forms and memories from far and wide.

The walls were primarily wood-some from a barn that had burned long ago-all with imperfections, knot holes, cracks, and crevices. Walls of porous wood absorbing and retaining the sights and sounds of the family within their arms. A home where the walls were bursting with love, with hilarity, with long hugs of encouragement, kisses of new grandchildren, holiday plays written by and starring siblings and cousins, decadent meals, piano-accompanied sing-a-longs, son-in-laws clad in matching pajamas, terrible dancing, gymnastics on furniture, parties that lasted till dawn, and heartfelt conversations shared with the kind of confidence and transparency that would happen nowhere else. A home that no one ever wanted to leave and where everyone always yearned to return.

Ken built a family that loves each other fiercely and prioritizes each other over everything else because they learned from him and Geri that there is truly no greater gift in life.

We will miss him more than our words could ever express, and we will be forever grateful for the life, the learnings, the love, and the family he taught us to fight for, to build, and to forever cherish.

Services for Ken will be held at Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 North Bendix Drive, South Bend, Indiana 46628, Tuesday, July 21st, the day that would mark his 53rd wedding anniversary. Visitation will be from 3-6 PM with a short service starting at 5. 

A Hospice provider supported Ken in his final days of life. The help and compassion he and his family received was invaluable and they hope to help others during those most difficult and trying times. If you are inclined, Donations in his name can be made to: http://www.seasonsfoundation.org/ways-to-give/donate

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kenneth Woodrow Slack, please visit our floral store.