Alex Jose Bermudez, 55, of Columbia, MO, passed away to eternal life suddenly on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012.  Dr. Bermudez was head of the Diagnostic lab at MU.
 
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, at Memorial Funeral Home, and the funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Evangelical Free Church, 600 Silvey St. in Columbia.

Alex was born on Feb. 25, 1957, in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Bates College in Maine and a master's degree in nuclear medicine and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1986 from the University of Illinois. During this time, he married the love of his life, Lisa Lundelius of Pennsylvania, in 1980.

After an avian medicine internship at North Carolina State University and positions at the University at Connecticut and The Ohio State University, he became a faculty member and avian pathologist at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in 1991. Since 2005, he served as the director of the laboratory. He was a member of the American Association of Avian Pathologists and the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, of which he was elected president in July. He has faithfully served the university and professional groups in many capacities.

Alex was an active member of Evangelical Free Church and later the International Community Church. He served both churches as elder, teacher, Bible study leader and, most important, a tireless helper to those in need. Whether it was leading an organizational meeting or bringing his pickup truck to help international students move, his gentle spirit and dedication to others has affected the lives of his church family, from the youngest children in Sunday school to its oldest members and staff.

From childhood he had an abiding love of nature. An avid bird-watcher, enthusiastic fisherman and persistent (if rarely successful) hunter, his great joys were spending time in the countryside and at the beach. A kind, generous, faithful and wise man, Alex will be sorely missed by so many. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and children Alexa, Steven (Carla) and Peter, all of Columbia; his father, José Bermudez of Puerto Rico; and half brother Jan Henle (Dee) of New York City.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Atti Vandenberg Bermudez.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like memorials to go to the International Community Church, 1107 University Ave., Columbia, Mo., 65201, or to the University of Missouri, W210 Vet Med Building, Columbia, Mo., 65211. Memo: College of Veterinary Medicine, in memory of Alex Bermudez.

Tributes can be left online at www.memorialfuneralhomeandcemetery.com.