June 13, 1953 – Oct. 27, 2021
W. Alexander Huppenthal of Hoodsport, Washington passed away October 27, 2021, at the age of 68. He is survived by his wife, Jamey; mother, Isabella of Southbury CT; brother, Alfred and his wife, Marie of Newtown, CT; and his brother, Roland of Southbury CT; nieces Jaime and Taylor; nephews Nick and Jeffery; his five grand-nieces and nephews and all of the friends he made in his travels. A memorial service will be held at St. Rose Church in Newtown, CT on Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m.
Alex was born in Trenton, NJ, lived in many locations including, West Milford, NJ; Neenah, Wisconsin; Plano, TX; Portland, OR; Aspen, CO; Orcas Island, WA, and finally Hoodsport, WA.
He was a man of many talents. He became involved with computers soon after graduating from Florida State University and developed a strong interest in the Internet long before web browsers were available. He started a computer store in Neenah and began developing custom software for local businesses. He eventually moved on to work for various technology companies and then founded Aspen Works, an Internet provider and software development company in Aspen, CO. He was co-founder of Aspen.AI, former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at iTron, and former Global Project Manager with Microsoft. He was also Co-Chair of the National Institute of Standards and Technology SC3 GTC Data Supercluster.
In his travels, Alex found his way to Orcas Island where he became involved with the community and created a “Buy, Sell, Trade” site which is still in use today. Eventually, he landed in Hoodsport, WA, on the side of a mountain overlooking Cushman Lake, where he milled his own lumber and built his timber frame cottage.
In his spare time, Alex was an instrument-rated private pilot, a motorcyclist, mountain biker, world traveler, lumberjack, timber mill operator, timber frame carpenter, excavator operator, drone pilot, and gifted photographer. You can see examples of his amazing photography on his FaceBook page.
Alex lived a very full life and enjoyed it up to the end. He had a great sense of humor, always had a smile on his face, and an encouraging word for anyone who needed one. A man generous to a fault, he will be greatly missed.
