Peter Cacioppo

Peter Charles Cacioppo, formerly of Champaign, died Friday morning (Sept. 15, 2017) at age 81 after fighting his third cancer in the last two years. He died peacefully, surrounded by his wife, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren.

The visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Owens Funeral Home, 101 N. Elm St., Champaign. The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home, followed by a graveside service by the Honor Guard at Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana.

Peter was born in Independence, La., on Nov. 27, 1935, to Frank Cacioppo and Francis LaBate Cacioppo. He then lived in Chicago, Monticello and Champaign, and Terre Haute, Ind.Peter   graduated from Champaign High School in 1957 where he was on the wrestling team. He met Rebecca Sue Peters, his high school sweetheart whom he later married. They just celebrated their 58th anniversary last December.

Peter was a longtime member of Holy Cross Church, Champaign.

He was preceded in death by his father, Frank Cacioppo; mother, Francis Wilson; and daughter, Elizabeth Francis Cacioppo.

He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Sue Cacioppo; daughters, Cathy (Rex) Brooks, Pamela (Peter) Reed and Carey (Mark) Barfield; grandchildren, Diana Cacioppo, Wyatt McGeary, Rex Alan Brooks, Amanda Brooks, Wyatt Brooks, Brady Barfield, Jesse Barfield, Landen Barfield, Caleb Reed, Hannah Reed, Lydia Reed and Chloe Reed; sister, Francis (Jerry) Otani; and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.

Peter joined the National Guard after high school, where he was a cook.  He worked for the Illinois Central Railroad for 13 years.  Peter worked for the Champaign Fire Department for 32 years. He was hired in 1967. He was promoted to engineer in 1975 and retired in 1999.

During this time, Peter was involved in the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Program and also taught the Fire Service Technology Program at Parkland College for 11 years. 

After retirement, Peter kept busy doing demos for Dremel tools. Peter and Rebecca designed and sold numerous crafts at shows around Illinois. They also enjoyed going on senior citizen trips and visiting casinos along the way.

Peter loved spending time with his family, fishing (especially crappie), woodworking, gardening, cooking and eating. 

Peter loved life and family. He was a gentle, kind, patient and very loving husband, father, grandfather and brother. He adored all of his children and grandchildren, and every time he saw them it brought a smile to his face.

He was strong with his faith and God and a true fighter to the end. He will be missed deeply by his family and friends. We miss and love you. You will remain in our hearts forever, LOVE YOU!