Alexander T. Budzeak Jr.

Alex was born in Grand Forks, ND where he grew up playing hockey and hunting . He graduated from Central High School and attended Wichita State University as a business major.

He met and married his best friend, Cheri, in Denver, Colorado. Although jobs transferred them to numerous states, the family returned to live in Colorado Springs multiple times. Finally they returned home again for good two years ago when Alex retired from WL Gore and Associates in Flagstaff, AZ. He loved Colorado, travelling, camping with family, and dancing, mostly West Coast Swing. He was a member of Church for all Nations (NE) in Colorado Springs.

Family was the most important thing in his life. Alex and Cheri were blessed with two children through adoption from Maui, Hawaii, and then Kazakhstan nine years later. Their experiences in Kazakhstan and Moscow led the family to an even greater appreciation for the United States. He was also so proud of his oldest daughter, Tracy, when she returned to school to become an RN. His baby granddaughter, Charlotte, brought him such joy and gave him a reason to live and fight his illness. He was determined to walk his daughter, Lexi, down the aisle which he did five weeks before he passed.

Alex was preceded in death by his parents, Alex and Esther Budzeak, and his brother, Don Budzeak. He is survived by his loving wife, Cheri, daughter Tracy Olson of Portland, North Dakota (Eric), daughter Lexi Carter of Colorado Springs (Ben), and son, Marcus Budzeak of Colorado Springs. He is also survived by his sisters Sharon Motte (John) of Pinellas Park, FL and Susan Yarbro (Larry) of Grand Forks, ND as well as six grandchildren.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Mayo Clinic Lung Cancer Research, https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donatemc and designate a gift to “other”, “Lung Cancer Research”, and “tribute” in memory of Alex T Budzeak, Jr. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.