776. Tio (Uncle) Pepe loves making people laugh. He's the uncle you never knew you had. He's the uncle you cannot wait to see. He's funny and a good man. He's Tio Pepe.

    Tio (Uncle) Pepe has spent most of his life making people laugh. Long before there was a stage, microphone, or even the name Tio Pepe, he was the middle child of Cuban refugees, born and raised in Kansas City. From an early age, he hated seeing people sad or upset… even people he didn't particularly like. Being the middle child also taught him something else very quickly: if he wanted attention, he was going to have to figure out how to create it himself.     His formative years were spent in Catholic schools where he developed the combination of discipline, rebellion, humor, and Catholic guilt that would eventually find its way onto the comedy stage. He became a high school wrestling state champion while simultaneously frustrating teachers who recognized his academic ability and wished he were considerably more interested in proving it.     Tio Pepe did go on to earn both bachelor's and master's degrees and eventually reached all but dissertation status in a PhD program in Communication Studies.     His path also included twenty-one years of military service in both active duty and the reserve component, including nearly seventeen months deployed to a combat zone. Outside the military, his professional life has been equally varied, with stops in business consulting, automobile sales, and the construction industry. He is also the proud father of a son who is now a college student.     Through all of those chapters, one thing remains consistent; He loves making people laugh. He's the uncle you never knew you wanted He's the uncle you cannot live without. He's Tio Pepe.