Rex Rieger Krakauer Obituary (1950 - 2011)

Rex Rieger Krakauer, 60, passed away Monday, March 21, 2011 at Homestead of Leawood. He was the son of Kenneth and Jane Rieger Krakauer, grandson of Nathan and Dorothy Ludwig Rieger and Julian and Bernice Adler Krakauer, all of Kansas City, MO. Rex was a fifth generation Kansas Citian. His death comes after a long, arduous, valiant struggle with declining health following discovery of a brain stem tumor at age 30. Rex was a 15-year alumnus of Pembroke Country Day School. Following graduation he spent a summer in Aix-en-Provence, immersed in learning the French language. He was a Philosophy of Religion major at Williams College, Williamstown, MA. While there he summered in Lahti, Finland teaching English to Finnish children. He participated in Williams' post graduate program, teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong. This experience had a profound effect on Rex because he fell deeply and forever in love with all things Asian. Prior to law school, Rex worked in advertising at Martin Fromm and Assoc., K.C. Rex earned his law degree from American University, Washington, DC, where he won the moot court competition. During law school he worked for U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton on the U.S. Senate Labor committee. His first position as an attorney was for the Comsat Corporation. Comsat was responsible for launching the first commercial communications satellite in 1965. Next he was an associate at the Bryan Cave law firm in both Washington, DC and St. Louis. Next, a sole practitioner attorney in Washington, DC, he occasionally participated in a barter system program. He sometimes received odd payment for his legal work, such as a "valuable" record collection or an overabundance of fresh food -- fodder for humorous conversations. In addition to his law practice, Rex was a trained mediator, work he loved and firmly believed was a superior alternative to protracted, expensive legal battles. Rex later returned to Hong Kong, where he worked as a professor of English and authored business text books. Next he accepted a position as an English professor at Beijing Language and Culture University. In Beijing he met his wife, Li Xiao Ning, to whom he was married for a dozen years. Rex was adventurous, bright, and had a wicked sense of humor. Remarkably, he never complained about his three decades of serious health challenges. Our deepest gratitude to the staff of Homestead Assisted Living for their extraordinary devoted care of Rex in his last two years and special appreciation to Doug and Mary Gunn for their gifts of steadfast friendship and extraordinary acts of kindness during this time. Rex leaves his mother, Jane Rieger Krakauer, KC, MO, his sister, Ann Randall Kelley (Michael), Las Vegas, NV, and two nephews, Tyler Randall Greif and Eli Jordan Greif, both of New York, NY. Funeral Services will be at 3:00 pm at The Louis Memorial Chapel 6830 Troost, Wednesday, March 23. Burial at Rose Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Rex Krakauer Memorial Fund at Williams College, 75 Park Street, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267 or to the charity of your choice.