Joe Tripoli's Obituary
Joe Tripoli passed away July 2, 2020. He was born in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, to Joseph and Clover Tripoli. He was the oldest of four children; he is survived by his sister, Marilyn Scussell, and his two brothers, Phillip and Larry Tripoli. He graduated Stafford High 1956 and joined the Air Force and served 4 years as an air force mechanic. He married his wife Patricia, in 1959 and they celebrated 61 years of marriage. Joe and Pat moved to Joplin from the East coast in the early 60’s. Joe worked for his bother-in law, Gene O’Flaherty, at Phillip’s 66 gas station. Soon, Tri-State courted him and his Diamond T Wrecker to come work for them. He was soon nicknamed Kokomo Joe. He retired in 2006 as the maintenance emergency coordinator, working his way up from diesel mechanic and body shop mechanic over his 38 years with Tri-State Trucking. Joe spent time coaching pee-wee baseball, cooking spaghetti dinners for schools and scouting fundraisers, and selling Girl Scout cookies across the four states. Joe was a lover of life, he lived his life big. He loved the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park like a brother. His love for his family and friends was always apparent, with his backyard horseshoe parties, cookouts, pizza parties, any kind of party, Joe was there and usually cooking. Everyone that knew Joe was blessed, he was a hard worker, nonjudgmental and showed up in life with a great attitude, a little betting money (how he loved the horses) a big smile, and kindness. His whole life was his dedication to his family. He is survived by his wife, Pat, their four children, Aleda Cable, Tony Tripoli, Veronica Baughman, and Kelly Cohen, his 11 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren, along with so many nieces and nephews that called him Uncle Joe, or Grandpa or Papa, he answered to them all. He will be greatly missed. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Diabetes Association,2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 900, Arlington, VA 22202.
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