Alexander Harley Caves

Alexander Harley Caves, 43, passed away at his home in Denver, CO, on January 26, 2026. After many years of struggling with Bipolar Illness and addiction, both incurable, he is finally at peace.

Alex was born in Wisconsin to Guy and Claudia Caves on February 6, 1982. He graduated from Mukwonago High School in Wisconsin in 2000 and attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for 3 semesters. He began working at Heaven City Restaurant in Mukwonago and soon found that he loved both the art and the science of cooking. He worked as a chef for 15 years in Madison, WI, and in Los Angeles, CA, including at some very high profile LA restaurants, including Campanile and The Tar Pit, where he served as Chef de Cuisine. Later, after deciding to leave the restaurant industry to protect his mental health, he became a licensed Phlebotomist and worked for 2 years at Centennial Peaks Hospital in Denver. He had a gift for dealing with the patients there, many of whom were suffering from issues he could relate to. He loved this work and found helping people in need to be very rewarding, though the daily reality was difficult. His goal was to become a nurse practitioner, but that was not meant to be.

In 2005 he went to Japan to cook with a chef in Shingu. There he learned to speak some Japanese, eat with chopsticks, and cook outstanding seafood, or rather arrange raw seafood on a plate. He also met his wife Kaori (Yamamoto) while he was there. They married in Japan in 2006; though separated for many years, they never divorced. At the time of his death, he had been living with Fable McAllister, his fiancée, with whom he was happily planning a future at the time of his passing.

Alex was an unusually intelligent person with a photographic memory. When he started high school, he was horrified to learn that some people studied for tests, a form of cheating in his mind. He was a (possible) world record holder for reading the book Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, 8 times. When DFW died, we read it again as a family with Alex as our guide. He also loved Anthony Bourdain, as a traveler and as a nonfiction writer. He could recite whole episodes of Seinfeld, loved the Simpsons when he was young, and ranked The Big Lebowski high on his list of favorite films (and accordingly, some of his ashes will be lovingly housed in a coffee can).

Alex was loved by everyone who knew him. He was down to earth, charming, and very witty, and could talk to anyone, even if he mostly preferred not to. He was a great audience for a story, always laughing at all your jokes. He loved enclosed spaces (a claustrophile!), Rocky Rococo’s pizza, Brewers and Dodgers baseball, Badgers basketball, LA Kings hockey, and spending time with family.

Alex is survived by his parents, Guy and Claudia, sisters Amy Caves (Ray Koehler) and Megan LePien (Brian), nephews Gus and Max LePien and Cade Kazmierczak, and his beloved partner, Fable McCallister.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Hudson Gardens in Highlands Ranch, CO, on Sunday, April 12, 2026, from 2 – 5 pm.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Highlands Ranch Rotary Foundation’s Pediatric Mental Health Endowment at Children’s Hospital, CO. (Checks made out to HR Rotary Foundation.) Another option is Integrated Family Community Services, a food bank and resource center where Alex occasionally volunteered.