Kenny Maldonado

Kenny Maldonado, 38, formerly of New York and transplant of New Orleans, passed away on November 8, 2020, in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas.

Kenny was born September 14, 1982, in the Bronx, NY to Gobind Ram Pawa and Eloisa (Maldonado) Monsac. He attended Aviation High School in Long Island City and went on to earn an Associate’s degree in Photography from Queensborough Community College. He continued his education at York College and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Journalism in 2007.

Ken worked as a freelance photographer at various publications and in 2010 was a contact photographer at the Wall Street Journal. In 2014, he took on the roll of photo editor and chief photographer at the Times Ledger in Queens, NY. In 2016, Ken was a founding member of The Gallery at Lake Saint Lawrence Arts in Waddington, NY. In addition to his journalistic pursuits, he documented the most joyous events of people throughout the United States and most recently took a position as a photographer for NOLA Real Estate Marketing and Photography.

Ken was an avid mountain bike rider and had accomplished the rare feat of biking across the United States in 2003; and again in 2006 as a participant in the Great Divide Race, the longest independent mountain bike race in the world. Ken’s desire to explore was never stifled and he earned a private pilot’s certificate in order to feel the freedom that you can only experience in the air. He took great pride in flying his Piper Archer.

He is survived by his son, Theron Walker Maldonado; his father and step mother, Gobind Pawa and Kumary Pawa; his mother and step father, Eloisa (Maldonado) and Sammy Monsac; his sister, Ivette Monsac; his faithful dog, Ellie; as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends that accepted him as part of their families.

Despite the fullness of Ken’s accomplishments, he would often remark that his son, Theron, was the best part of him. Ken often viewed the world from the outside looking in, and kept himself at a distance from many people. Though Ken endeared those that he met to him, he felt solace in his solitary pursuits and with a few people that he allowed close to him. For those of us lucky enough for him to include us in his life, we will fondly remember his dry wit, his gentleness, his unexpected laughter, and the way he captured a vision of the world around him with such simplicity and beauty.