Honoring Alex: “I love this day!”

On March 8th, founding Gabriel House member Alex Ripplinger transitioned from this life at the age of 32, surrounded by family and friends at his mother’s home, where he lived the last 3 ½ months of his life, following a diagnosis of an untreatable brain tumor. 

Alex was a passionate, go-hard, go-fast, “yes” guy, whose go-to phrase most days was “I love this day!” Even in these last months, when some days were pretty tough, these would be the first words he would say to his mom Karen in the morning. 

If you got to spend much time with Alex, you learned you’d need to work to keep up. He walked fast, and preferred to bike when possible. He would go on long bike rides with his dad and other family.  

He loved all kinds of adventuring, including at Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp and camps at Autism Mustang Alliance. He was a skilled public transit user, commuting to work daily. He also loved trains - whether admiring them at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center or on a wall calendar in his room. 

Alex worked at the Oregon Zoo for years, and before that was a dedicated volunteer, and afterward an active annual pass member. Alex was very taken with elephants, rhinos, and orangutans - but most of all, had a great relationship with the elephant keepers, gifting them with birdhouses he made with his uncle Sam.

This past December, Alex got to be Zookeeper for a Day. With the zoo closed to the public, he went behind the scenes to feed and pet animals. Alex also visited new baby elephant Tula-Tu her first day on display, coincidentally also Alex’s last trip out of the house. Gifts from Alex’s most recent employer Valley Catholic School and other friends will go to a memorial bench in the zoo’s Elephant Lands, with Alex’s words “I love this day.”

As a very active guy, Alex also loved sports. He loved attending Blazers games, shooting hoops at home, and bowling in leagues. 

And while Alex was quite a physical guy, he was also very creative and deeply caring. Quite the showman, he was always ready to perform on guitar, vocals, or drums at each L’Arche party - whether solo or in his family’s Beatles cover band, The Bad Apples. Every Wednesday night was jam night with his dad Greg and uncle Joe. 

At home, Alex was a confident and skilled cook. He grew up watching cooking shows, and was always putting together different foods in surprising ways. 

As soon as you could say the words, ‘Alex, can I get your help?,’ he was there in a flash. He was dedicated to his chosen weekly chore of taking the Gabriel House trash and recycle bins to the curb. He would help his aunt Annette make over the front flower beds each spring, and even helped demolish an old fountain, just a month before his diagnosis. 

Alex was a devoted son, brother, nephew, cousin, housemate, and friend. Every week when Gabriel House would check in with ‘highs and lows’, many of his updates would be about how each family member was doing. He called family and friends regularly by phone - some like his mom every morning, and some like his former pastor Matt every few days. At the end of every call, he said ‘ love you.’

During Alex’s time at L’Arche, his family noted that his verbal communication deepened, as those phone conversations lengthened and became more dynamic. He made cards for people, took notes for himself during big group meetings, and worked on his writing skills with a summer L’Arche intern. In the few months before his diagnosis, he was starting to write poetry. 

We are missing Alex greatly in this season of grief. Gabriel House will not be the same, but they are finding ways to honor and continue to remember him in that space. 

In lieu of flowers, Alex’s family requests donations in Alex’s memory be made to L’Arche Portland.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, May 25th at 1pm at Autism Mustang Alliance, where we can all come together to honor Alex’s passionate, caring spirit. You’re invited to wear colorful clothes - tie dye, band or elephant shirts, no black please. 

Autism Mustang Alliance is located at 14963 S Graves Rd, Mulino, OR. L’Arche friends are requested to RSVP to rsvp@larche-portland.org. Carpooling will be appreciated. Please note whether you will need a ride or can offer one.