On Saturday, September 23, 2023, John Joseph Kainer passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully at his cherished farmhouse in Schulenburg, Texas.  A kind, brilliant, gentle man, he leaves behind family, friends, and colleagues who mourn his death, but celebrate the memories we created over the years.

John was born on October 6, 1958 in Pasadena, Texas to Victor and Helen Kainer.  As the middle child of five (and only boy), he was doted on by his sisters.  He attended Catholic schools through high school and had numerous, treasured friendships with his Mount Carmel High School (Class of 1977) classmates.

With his love of astronomy, John attended Sam Houston State College and earned both his Bachelor's of Science (Class of 1981) and Master's of Science in Physics (Class of 1984).  He worked at Texas Instruments for a time before embarking on a career in software engineering with a stint at System Planning Corporation and then, long term, CompuQuest, Inc. both located in northern Virginia. While at CompuQuest, he met and married Kristine and three years later they began their family with the birth of their precious daughter, Victoria.

When an opportunity arose to purchase the Kainer homestead in Schulenburg, the trio jumped at the chance.  While there, John began his own company, PrismSoftTech and consulted on radar signal processing and GUI applications. He also enjoyed coaching Tori in T-ball, attending her ballet recitals and basketball games, gardening, riding his green John Deere lawnmower, making burn piles (and burning them!) chasing chickens, and raising Strawberry, a beautiful, docile reddish brown cow that joined the family at four days of age.

Eventually, the family moved to Georgetown, Texas where John devoted his time and talents to Georgetown Rail Equipment Company, developing the Aurora project for automated railroad track inspections using high speed imaging, data collection systems, and custom image processing algorithms to identify track features and anomalies. He became a devoted tennis and lacrosse dad and, time permitting, enjoyed watching his beloved Houston Astros (he was an Astros Buddy as a youngster), Houston Rockets, and Houston Oilers (before they traitorously moved to Tennessee).  No worries though, John quickly embraced the Houston Texans as their replacement…. He could be heard shouting and cheering down the street during all sporting events on TV.  He also was a Round Rock Express fan and enjoyed attending games at Dell Diamond with family and coworkers.

Sadly, during this time, John suffered from severe back and neck issues which resulted in three major surgeries in less than a year and a half.  In constant pain, he relocated to the farm to recuperate and enjoy the peace and beauty of the countryside.  It was his "happy place" and we are grateful that he enjoyed it to the end.

John was predeceased by his parents, Victor and Helen Belcik Kainer, his infant sister, Brenda, and his nephew, Chad Hollingsworth.  He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Kristine; his daughter, Victoria, and her fiancé, Daniel Nathan; his sisters, Doris (Don) Drachenberg, Marian (Jud) Hollingsworth, and Dr. Karen (Jon Dain) Kainer; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins; Strawberry, fluffsters Molly, Mindy, and Lily; and stray cat, Luna -- his constant companion on the farm porch.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date.