Isadore Louis "Sonny" Kunian

(1913 - 1997)

Born in 1913, Sonny Kunian graduated from Georgia Tech in 1934, where he played football and edited the student newspaper, Technique. Kunian applied his textile engineering degree in his first position with Hellsein and Company. He later became president of Banks, Olshine Stores in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1937 to 1960 and president of Davidson’s in Chattanooga in 1960-1961. He stepped away from his position in Nashville during World War II to serve in the U.S. Navy from 1943-1945.

In the 1960s, Kunian became involved in the industrial development of Atlanta, initially as a partner in Kay Developers and later for Kunian Enterprises. In 1980, Sonny and his wife, Mildred, established the Mildred and I. L. Kunian Scholarship Fund to help students of high academic standing who need financial assistance.  In the 1980s, he joined the petition to pardon Leo Frank.

He was active in Atlanta civic affairs as president of the Georgia Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation on the board of the Center for Rehabilitation Technology at Georgia Tech, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Jewish Family and Children’s Services. He was also a board member of the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, and the National Jewish Welfare Board. In 1986, the Georgia Institution of Technology awarded Kunian with the Distinguished Service Award. Upon hearing about this honor, his longtime friend Larry Gellerstedt said, “He built a bridge of better understanding between the Jewish community and Georgia Tech.”