Alex Carl Cacioppo

Alex Carl Cacioppo, age 76, of Tipton, Missouri passed away at his home early Thursday, February 13, 2020. He was born December 29, 1943 in Kansas City, Missouri to Dr. Alex Cacioppo and Lena Marie (Cacioppo) Rizzo.

Alex grew up in Kansas City, graduating from Ruskin High School in 1961. He attended college at Warrensburg graduating with a Bachelors degree in 1965 and a Masters degree in the spring of 1966. Alex enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 24, 1966 and served his country as an SP-5 in the Infantry. His various duties while in the service included serving as a chaplain’s assistant, church organist, artist, projectionist, Jeep driver, piano player and delivered death notifications to the parents of deceased service personnel. He was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Ft. Eustis, Ft. Story, Yongsan, Korea, and Ft. Lewis, Seattle, Washington before his discharge on May 30, 1969.

Anxious to use the education he had achieved before joining the Army, his first position as an art teacher was in St. Elizabeth, Missouri for four years. He moved to Iberia, Missouri to teach for a year before making his way to Tipton, Missouri in 1975, where he came to stay for the next 44 years. His unique, one of a kind personality, made quite an impression on many of his students through the years and consequently, a number of young people have maintained their relationship with “Mr. Carl”. He was described by a prior student as a fun teacher with a charismatic presence that no student could ignore, which made him a great teacher that they respected. Because he saw the need, Alex, as a single man became qualified through the state as a foster parent for a period of time. Since retiring in 2008, he has spent much time in pursuit of more education in the form of reading, reading, reading….any subject that intrigued him at any given moment, such as learning to raise orchids and roses, for example.

He was not only talented as an artist but also as a classical musician. He artfully mastered the keyboard and was an excellent organist and shared that ability in a number of churches in the area. He played the organ in the St. Andrew Catholic Church, Tipton, Bunceton Federated Church and the Tipton United Methodist Church, among others, often playing for weddings and funerals.

Preceding Alex Carl Cacioppo in death was his father, Dr. Alex Cacioppo.

Surviving Alex are his mother, Lena M. Rizzo and his brother Phillip Cacioppo, both of whom reside in Kansas City, Missouri.

A funeral service for Alex Carl Cacioppo will be at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at the Tipton United Methodist Church, with burial immediately following at the Masonic Cemetery, Tipton. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m., prior to the service.

Memorials for Alex Carl Cacioppo are suggested to be made to his brother Phillip Cacioppo pending further plans for a scholarship or memorial.

Online condolences may be submitted at www.meisenheimerfuneralhome.com.

To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Alex Carl Cacioppo , please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

Burial immediately following service at Masonic Cemetery, Tipton, Missouri.