John J. Karl, who as president of what is now Buckeye Broadband oversaw growth in the company’s cable television offerings and subscriber base, died June 2 under hospice care at Parkcliffe Memory Care Community in Toledo. He was 89.

He had kidney failure and heart problems, his daughter Erika Karl said. Formerly of Parkglen Court in southwest Toledo, Mr. Karl had dementia and was in assisted living at Parkcliffe since 2010.

He was named general manager of Buckeye Cablevision Inc., as it was known then, in January, 1975, and retained that title until May, 1990. Buckeye and The Blade are owned by Block Communications Inc.

Mr. Karl was Buckeye executive vice president from April, 1975, until December, 1977, when he became president, the position he held until May, 1990. He was vice chairman of Buckeye from May until October, 1990, when he retired.

“My understanding of cable was developed through him,” said Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications Inc., who even before his own formal role in the cable system got to know Mr. Karl.

“The growth that took place at Buckeye CableSystem between January, 1975, and 1990 speaks for itself,” Mr. Block said on Thursday. “I feel a great debt to him, because he was my mentor in the cable business, more than any other person. A lot of the build-out of Buckeye CableSystem happened under John Karl.”

Mr. Karl’s tenure coincided with changes in technology, allowing the company to expand its offerings to customers, including multiple pay-per-view channels. Under his watch, Buckeye expanded into Erie County in Ohio and Monroe County in Michigan.

“He had experience in the cable industry before he joined us,” Mr. Block said. “He saw the value of the cable industry in an urban environment when others did not.”

Tom Dawson, a retired Buckeye executive, recalled an era when Buckeye was adding at least 1,000 new subscribers a month.

“John really built the company up,” said Mr. Dawson, whose book, Building Blocks: Buckeye CableSystem’s Communications Revolution, From Printer’s Ink to Cable to Fiber, was published in 2015. “People were following [Buckeye’s] trucks down the street and saying, ‘Hey, stop at my house next.’”

Mr. Dawson, in his book, wrote that to build the customer base to be served by an expanding physical plant, Mr. Karl “turned to Toledo’s largest and most prominent advertising agency Widerschein-Strandberg and later to Tailford Associates...Ed Gibbs and Tony Barone, two creative types with Widerschein, would develop in 1975 the iconic stylized eye that has been part of Buckeye’s logo ever since.”

Mr. Karl “was a pretty good salesman,” Mr. Dawson said Thursday.

David Huey, retired president and chief operating officer of BCI, said he too learned the cable television business from Mr. Karl.

“He realized how to effectively and efficiently build the system out, getting franchising done with each of our communities, because he had to get contracts with them,” said Mr. Huey, who was hired by Mr. Karl in 1985 as executive vice president of Buckeye. 

“I could go into his office any time and sit down and talk to him about how can we do this better or that better,” Mr. Huey said. “He was very amiable to making things happen and making changes.”

Mr. Dawson recalled Mr. Karl as easy-going — and hard-driving.

“He got everything done that he wanted done. And when he told you to do something, you knew you better do it,” Mr. Dawson said.

Mr. Block said: “He was a very concise thinker, very direct, very focused and correct in his thoughts almost all the time.

“He was the sharpest man in the room at 8 o’clock in the morning,” Mr. Block said.

John Jay Karl, one of eight siblings, was born Sept. 12, 1932, in Litchfield, Conn., to Elsa and Rudolph Karl. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father a carpenter. In his youth, he worked on a nearby dairy farm — and later encouraged his daughters to pursue summer jobs.

“He was always for having your independence,” Ms. Karl said. “He had that kind of work ethic. He was promptly on time for everything.”

He was a graduate of Litchfield High School and received a bachelor’s degree in economic theory from what is now Bates University in Maine. He was an Army veteran and served stateside at the end of the Korean War.

He was a department manager at Gimbels, the department store, in New York City. He later worked in advertising.

Before coming to Toledo, Mr. Karl worked in New York for Adtel Ltd., a marketing research subsidiary of Booz, Allen & Hamilton Inc. management consultants. He also was a principal and chief executive of Capital Cablevision Co., of Charleston, W.Va. He had been a consultant to cable industry organizations as well.

He was a fly fisherman, a supporter of Toledo Opera, and formerly sang in the chorus of some productions. Years earlier, he’d sung in a barbershop quartet.

He and the former Ursel Pfannendoerfer married in 1970. She died May 18, 2019.

Surviving are his daughters Christine Phares, Erika Karl, and Deirdre Karl, and sister, Anne Karl.

Memorial services will be scheduled later. Arrangements are by Coyle Funeral Home.

The family suggests tributes to Parkcliffe Memory Care Community.

First Published June 10, 2022, 4:00 a.m.