Alex Joseph Pieper was born in Akron, Colorado to Chester and Irene (Hottinger) Pieper on October 31, 1942, in a farmhouse northwest of the Washington County Fairgrounds which at that time was out in the country.  Over time the town surrounded this house, which still exists on Fremont Avenue.  The house was owned by a mid-wife that delivered babies, since no hospital existed in Akron at that time.

The first major event in Alex's life occurred at the age of eighteen months, on a road trip to Sterling, when he fell out of an accidentally-opened back door of the family car as they traveled down the primitive road.  His mother said when they went back to retrieve him from the ditch he was completely covered with sand-burrs and had suffered a broken leg.  His parents took him to the Sterling Hospital where he was cleaned up and his broken leg was set in a cast.  When the cast was removed, the doctor discovered a problem.  Apparently after the leg had been set Alex managed to stand up in his crib causing the bones to slip so they fused badly misaligned.  The doctor told his parents nothing could be done and he would be a cripple for the rest of his life.  Fortunately, his parents would have none of that.  Alex was placed in Denver Children's Hospital for several months where the doctors tied him in bed and placed traction on the leg until the problem was corrected.  Much later, as he was being inducted into the U.S. Army, the examining doctors gave Alex grief because he had no idea which of his legs had been broken in early childhood.

Alex started grade school before the age of five at Sunny Slope, District 78., Washington County.  His eighth grade teacher had a great impact on him as she encouraged him and recommended him for further education.  Alex was accepted to Holy Cross Abbey School in Canon City, Colorado, a monastic preparatory college.   Here, along with the normal required courses, he studied religion and Latin for four years.  In later life he said the study of Latin improved his grasp of language more than anything and had a great effect on him.

After a very disciplined upbringing and four years at a Catholic boarding school, Alex graduated in 1960.  He returned to Akron and started enjoying life.  He worked on the farm with his father and brothers as needed.  He worked for farmers, at times living with their family during the week, and at various businesses, mechanic shops and gas stations.

In 1963, Alex was drafted into the U.S. Army.  Two of his friends from Akron enlisted several weeks later.  These three guys ended up together in Fort Ord, California.  After basic training and intensive advanced training, Alex was assigned to the 25 ^th Tropic Lightning Infantry Division, a mobile strike force, based at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, Hawaii, which was trained for immediate reaction jungle and guerilla warfare tactics of the U.S. Army in the Pacific.  Within a couple of months one of the friends from Akron was assigned to the same brigade as Alex.  During this time, Alex attended night school at the University of Hawaii.  Sometimes these courses were interrupted by sudden deployments to various locations in the Pacific, including Pohakuloa, Wake Island, and Okinawa.  Alex said several times, they were mobilized and boxed their personal belongings addressed to be sent back home and slept on the tarmac runways on Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu, ready to depart for Vietnam; only to stand down after 48 hours and return to normal barracks duty.  This was during the time that President John Kennedy and and President Diem of Vietnam were assassinated. Alex said that in watching the MASH TV series, his job in the military was the same as Radar O'Riley's.  He was the artillery battery clerk and later the battalion legal clerk.  He always said that his mother prayed him back safe from the Vietnam War.

When he returned home from the Army, Alex planned to continue college with the goal of becoming an English teacher.  His father influenced him by helping him purchase a neighbor's farm.  So became the farmer.  After getting hailed out for several years in a row, Alex decided he needed supplemental income to make the farm mortgage payments.  He was hired by the Washington County Road Department to operate a motor grader.

As he would daily drive the motor grader to his assigned area, he watched the progress of an electric line crew rebuilding a power line south of Akron along the golf course.  Over a period of days watching, he decided he could learn to do that.  He applied for a job with the local rural electric cooperative and in August 1966 he began his rural electric career.

Alex married Linda Lou Kelley on July 30, 1966.  He always teased her that he had known her since she was a little girl, being disruptive during Catholic Mass, running up and down in the church pew.

Alex was a hard worker and throughout much of his life worked full time during the day and on his farming and ranching enterprise on the weekends and in the evenings often until midnight.  During his career with Y-W Electric he started out on the power line construction crew where he was sometimes called out to work at night, then spent about 20 years in the engineering department as a field engineer and finally another 19 years as an advisory consultant and personal representative for the members of the cooperative.  He thoroughly enjoyed being involved with the customers and interacting with the public and excelled in this position due to his friendly personality.

When his sons were young he enjoyed taking them on ski trips, taking trips to the Colorado mountains to spend time at a family cabin and traveling to Wisconsin and Minnesota to visit family.  He was a member of the Akron Elks Lodge, the VFW and the local men's golf league.

In semi-retirement, Alex gratefully enjoyed his own relaxed pace with his farming enterprise and seed corn business.  He enjoyed traveling, working with his wood lathe, helping his brothers and nephews with their farming operations, cooking, reading and spending time with family and friends.  He had a love of history, especially local and family history.  He enjoyed learning about events and family connections and thoroughly enjoyed sharing his knowledge with his enthusiastic story telling

In all stages of life Alex remained a devout Catholic and found much strength in his faith.  He spent time helping on improvement projects for the church such as assisting with installation of the elevator.  He spent considerable time maintaining and improving St. Joseph's Cemetery and was very proud of the lighting installation because the cemetery cross was visible from the highway at night.

Alex entered into Eternal Life Monday, November 8, 2021 at the East Morgan County Hospital in Brush, Colorado at the age of 79.

Alex was preceded in death by his parents Chester and Irene, sisters Rita Marie and Mary Rose, brother Edward, sisters-in-law Ruth and Betty Pieper and brother-in-law Joseph Krueger.  Surviving him are his wife Linda Pieper, son Joseph and wife Marci, son Ben and wife Lisa and their children Amanda, Alex and Aidan, sister Elizabeth Kruger, brothers Louis, Leo and wife Veda, John and wife Joan and Jim and wife Marcia Pieper, sister-in-law Fran Pieper and a large extended family.

There will be a private Rosary and Mass of Christian Burial Saturday, November 13, 2021 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Akron, Colorado with Father Marek Ciesla officiating.  Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery.  Pallbearers are sons Joseph and Ben Pieper, grandsons Alex and Aidan Pieper and nephews Brian and Matthew Pieper.

Memorial donations may be made to either the St. Joseph's Cemetery Fund or the St. Joseph's Youth Group.