John Henry Caipen

John Henry Caipen, 97, of Kent, passed away on Friday, September 11, 2026 in the comfort of his home. He was born in Stow on December 15, 1928 to the late John Caipen Sr. and Anna (Helmetz) Caipen and was a graduate of Hower Vocational High School in 1946.

John was drafted into the Army in 1950 and went to basic training at Camp Breckinridge, KY. He was then shipped out of Seattle, WA to Japan where he went to Eta Jima Specialist School in Japan. He was placed into the 453rd Engineering Construction Battalion in Young Dong Po as a dozer operator and served in various locations in Korea. He was honorably discharged from the service on October 22, 1952.

After returning to civilian life, he began working at Ohio Edison, a career that lasted over 38 years. John retired in 1990 as the general foreman in substation maintenance.

John joined the American Legion Post #496 in Kent in 1960. He was the Post Commander on three occasions. He went on to be the 14th District Commander in 1975, was Assistant Sgt. at Arms and Department Sgt. at Arms in 1982. He attended many department and national conventions. In 1982, he was selected to be the department representative to the Brecksville V.A. Hospital and served as the representative until the hospital closed. John accumulated more than 25,000 hours of volunteer service when he left Brecksville. He was always active at Post #496 in Kent. He took care of the electrical maintenance, painting and basic clean up. For his dedication and service, he was inducted to the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 2011. This distinction was a tremendous honor to him.

He married Martha Greenwald in 1953, had two beautiful children, Debbie and David, and moved to Brimfield. In September 1992, Martha passed away at the age of 58. He married Anna Belle Mollohan on July 2, 1994. Anna preceded John in death on September 9, 2026. He is also preceded in death by his stepchildren, Doug Bragg and Patty Slaughter; and siblings, Helen, Dorothy, Pearl, June, Lucille and Raymond.

He leaves his children, Deborah (Paul) Ferry and David (Lisa) Caipen; stepdaughter Sherry Neuwirth; grandchildren, Amy, Faith, David and Matt; great grandchildren, Ethan, Debon, Emily, McKenzie, Zachary, Hunter, Leo, Ailee and Makenna; and great great granddaughter Xarianna.

Calling hours will be Thursday, September 17, 2026 from 5:00-7:00PM and Friday, September 18, 2026 from 10:00-11:00AM at Bissler & Sons Funeral Home, 628 W. Main St. Kent, OH 44240. Funeral services will be Friday at 11:00AM at the funeral home. Interment with military honors will follow at Restland Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Kent American Legion Post #496, 1945 Mogadore Rd. Kent, OH 44240.

Services in the care of Bissler & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.