116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Alessio, Antony F. (Tony)
Antony F. (Tony) Alessio, 70, of Independence, died Saturday morning, Jan. 4, 2014, at ABCM Rehabilitation Center East Campus in Independence.
Tony was born Aug. 21, 1943, in Oelwein, Iowa, the son of Fred and Marlys (Bennett) Alessio. After graduating from Oelwein High School, Tony served his country as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Tony and Joanne (Nolan) were married in 1967 in Cedar Rapids and they moved to Independence where Tony owned and operated Little Anthony's Pizza House. Later he worked at Corn Blossom meat processing plant and then he attended nursing school. He was employed at Buchanan County Health Center, until his retirement in 2006. Tony especially enjoyed fishing, gardening, music and dancing and supporting his favorite sports teams, the Cubs, Yankees, Iowa Hawkeyes and the Packers. He was a history buff, coin collector and an avid movie watcher.
Tony is survived by his wife, Joanne; and his five children, Angela (Michael) Toale, Cresco, Anthony (Ellen) Alessio, Marion, Theresa (Troy) Butters, Independence, Lucia (Tim) Waskow, Dunlap, Ill. and John (Melissa) Alessio, Centennial Colo.; eight grandchildren, Madeline and Catherine Toale, Joseph and Sophia Alessio, Lydia and Alaina Butters and Matthew and Mason Waskow; a brother, John Alessio; and three sisters, Patricia Mahoney, Maureen Nolan and Teresa Murphy.
Tony was preceded in death by his parents, Marlys and Fred Alessio; and two brothers, Fred and Gregory.
We will miss his love for family and life's lessons within his witty sayings.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. John's Catholic Church, Independence, with the Rev. Don Plamondon officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Oelwein. Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Reiff Funeral Home & Crematory, Independence, where a rosary will be recited at 3 p.m. and a parish wake service at 7:30 p.m.
For more information or to leave an online condolence, please go to under obituaries.
Published in The Gazette Jan. 6, 2014.
Daily Newsletters