Joseph Allen Tupper

Joseph Allen Tupper

April 22, 2008 – June 18, 2022

 VISITATION: Thursday, June 23^rd from 5pm to 7pm at St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church, 16701 “S” St., followed by VIGIL SERVICE at 7pm.  MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: Friday, June 24^th at 10:30am, St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church.  In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Duchesne Academy, St. Stephen the Martyr School, or YMCA Camp Kitaki.

To view live broadcasts of the Vigil Service and Mass, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button on the home page.

Tupper, Alice Fern, March 20, 2006 – June 18, 2022

Tupper, Joseph Allen, April 22, 2008 – June 18, 2022

Alice “Ali” Tupper, 16, and Joseph “Joe” Tupper, 14, of Gretna, Nebraska passed away Saturday, June 18, 2022, in a car accident while traveling home from Worlds of Fun with beloved cousins.  They are survived by their parents, Zack and Steph Tupper, and younger sister, Annabelle Tupper along with many loved cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

God blessed Zack and Steph with the most perfect baby girl, Alice Fern, on March 20^th, 2006.  Twenty-five months later, on April 22, 2008, the Tupper family was blessed with the birth of the sweetest son, Joseph Allen.  Upon meeting Joe for the first time and holding him in the hospital, Ali declared, “Yup, that’s my Joe.” From that day on, Ali and Joe would forever be best friends, always protecting and always loving one another.

Their little sister, Annabelle, was born 5 years later and it was not long before it was discovered that “best friends” could be a 3-way affair.  The three of them were often found side by side by side, entertaining each other, playing a game, or undertaking a project.  With Ali and Joe close in age and Anna being a lot younger, the two older siblings cherished their younger sister and loved including her in almost all they did.  Quick to joke or prank one another, the three of them were inseparable and rarely fought.  The three were truly meant to be together.

Ali was a driven, strong soul, with an inner motivation that pushed her to succeed in anything she decided to try.  To an observer, it appeared that school and athletics or, really, almost anything came easily, but the magic happened behind the scenes, where Ali could be found running hundreds of miles a summer, practicing soccer with her brother, or intensely focused on her schoolwork or reading hundreds and hundreds of books.  She participated in Varsity Cross Country and Soccer at Duchesne Academy and excelled as a student. She loved her high school classmates while never forgetting and finding time for her friends from St. Stephen’s and her club sports teams.

Joe was a thoughtful, kind soul that cared more about others than he did himself.  It pained him deeply to see anyone struggle or treated unfairly.  Even as a young child, Joe had an uncanny ability to sense the pain of others and offer hugs and loving words to a family member in sorrow.  As a teenager this translated to his friends, where he was quick to stick up for a buddy in trouble or lend some help to a classmate struggling with a math problem.  To the onlooker Joe was quiet, never one to steal the spotlight, but to his close family and friends knew his quick wit, funny remarks, and eagerness to do and try anything was vividly noticed. Following in Ali’s footsteps, Joe became a skillful soccer player and a distance runner.

Both loved deeply, knowing that family goes much further than the walls of one’s home. Throughout their short lives, the friends they made, the classmates they had, and their sports teammates were naturally an extension of their family.  We are truly grateful for all the friends, family, classmates, teammates, teachers, and coaches that made Ali and Joe’s all too brief lives perfectly beautiful.