John Karakaris arrived in Brownwood in 2018 and opened Home Improvements by John, but an illness months later almost claimed his life.

In June of 2019, Karakaris contracted pneumonia which was followed by much more serious medical conditions.

“I went septic and got Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and I was on life support for four weeks,” he said. “I was in ICU at Abilene Regional for four and a half weeks and I was in the hospital for an entirety of 41 days. I went without oxygen for multiple hours because they couldn’t get the right tube to put me on life support. The doctors never thought I was going to be the same, but I’m a survivor and God is good. I’m so grateful to God and I trust his plan for my life.”

Home Improvements by John has been thriving since his recovery.

“I trusted God throughout the entire thing and my business was doing really well,” Karakaris, 33, said. “I thank God every day that my pastor, Jim Maxwell, was there to help my family out and take over the business because he’s a contractor as well.”

Two years ago, and two years after his illness, Karakaris created a second local business – Brownwood Barndominiums.

“I started Brownwood Barndominiums two years ago because I saw the need in the market,” he said. “I love to make clients happy and build their dream homes and also do it cost effective. I worked with a lot of builders and I saw what they were charging for their builds and I came to the realization that I could really save people a lot of money, and give them exactly what they wanted. I love handing over the keys and seeing their faces when they see the finished product.”

Karakaris credited his wife Kirsten, with whom he raises two daughters ages 6 and 4, with helping him start and grow the businesses from the ground level.

“We moved to Brownwood for a fresh start after our daughter was born in 2017,” he said. “My wife is a Brownwood native and we wanted to raise our kids in a small town. We were just going to try it out and decided we loved it here.”

The Karakaris family is also a major supporter of Knit Together.

“I like to be a big part of the foster care community here,” he said. “My wife was adopted so it really touches her heart. We’ve been given an opportunity the last couple of years with Knit Together to sponsor events. I like to sponsor their barbecues, the gala, and my wife is a board member.”

The Karakaris family also attends Freedom Fellowship Church.

“I’m involved with Freedom Fellowship Church and I love them, the community they have there and the way they love on people,” he said. “That’s our home church that we’ve been going to since 2018.”

Regarding the future of his businesses, Karakaris said, “I know that we’re going to be very successful with the different ways we do things for people, our customer service, and making this process easier than a lot people think it actually is. I believe we’ll be building 10 to 15 homes a year. It’s hard to say what the future holds, but I’m trusting God and I know He’ll put in my path exactly what I need.”