Wilfred "Will" Kados
1941 - 2024

RALEIGH, NC --- Wilfred John 'Will' Kaydos, 83, of Raleigh, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. He was born in Olean, New York on January 5, 1941, the younger son of the late Wilfred B. and Helen Kasper Kaydos. Will grew up in Olean where he was a 1958 graduate of Olean High School. He then attended Clarkson University, graduating in 1962 with a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering.

Will was a steely-eyed rocket scientist and member of the team engineering the first communications satellites (Comsat) and weather satellites in Florida after college. He met Mary Susan Hayes, the love of his life, in Cocoa Beach, FL in 1964. They were married in Susan's hometown of Goldston, North Carolina in 1966. He worked as an electrical engineer with McDonell Douglas Corporation in California before attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he earned an MBA in 1971.

Will and Susan moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1972, where they lived and raised three children until 2003, when they relocated to Raleigh. In addition to being an accomplished engineer, Will developed a manufacturing company of nearly 1000 employees, was the chief financial officer of $170 million dollar corporation and became a successful business consultant, authoring six published business books. He was an avid gardener, spending countless hours in his treasured orchard, a gourmet chef, and an accomplished world traveler. Will was particularly devoted to his canine gardening companions (both deceased), Domino and Raisin.

Will is survived by his beloved wife, Susan Hayes Kaydos; his older brother, Thomas C. Kaydos of Olean, NY; son, John Kaydos of Atlanta, GA; daughter, Dr. Neely Kaydos-Daniels and husband, Richard, currently of Bangladesh; daughter, Emily Kaydos Gibson and husband, Denny Butcher, of Fuquay-Varina, NC; and four grandchildren, Sylvia, Lucy, Shane, and Russell.

Family, friends, and others are invited to a memorial service, to be held at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, on Monday, August 5th at 1:00 PM. A reception will follow the service in the church garden gallery.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a gift to a cause important to Will, such as the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (https://giraffeconservation.org) or the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (https://foodbankcenc.org).

Service arrangements provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, NC; www.brownwynneraleigh.com.