Rex Joseph Kodippili is born on 6 October 1938 in Badulla, Sri Lanka as the youngest of the family. His father Don Henry Kodippili was a surveyor. His mother was Ethan Kodippili. His father died when he was 18 months old by a flooding occurred in Trincomalee district. Along with his two brothers, he was raised by his mother. He along with his two brothers completed education from St. Bede's College. Badulla. Though his brothers left the school early, Rex was boarded in the school. After Ordinary Level, he attended to Sri Siddhartha Central College, Badulla.

 

After completing school life, he joined Police department. In 1958, he came to Colombo with the job. At the Apprentice Passing Out Ceremony, Rex finished second out of four hundred soldiers. He served for five years in police department and departed in 1961. While in the military, he played boxing, swimming and was the leader of the first swimming team of the military police. Kodippili was a physical training instructor in the Military Police. He was then employed as a manager at the Marina Café and Hotel at Pettah, before becoming the manager at Salaka.

 

He was married to Katherine where he met on a marriage proposal. The couple had two daughters: Roshanthi and Surekha, and one son: Prasanna. His wife Katherine died in 2016.

 

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