Terry Ray Lepper

Grandfather, longtime local veterinarian, professor, volunteer

Dr. Terry Ray Lepper, of Claremont, CA passed away on December 10, 2024 at the age of 78 after a battle with dementia. He will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by a wide circle of family and friends.

Born in Joliet, IL, to Jack and Geraldine Lepper, Terry demonstrated academic, athletic and musical talent from an early age. After graduating from Joliet Township High School, he enrolled at University of Illinois, where he played in the marching band and earned awards for musicianship while earning his Bachelor degrees in biology and chemistry. He subsequently earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at University of Illinois in 1972.

He moved out West (first to Las Vegas, NV and then to Claremont, CA) as a young veterinarian. For nearly 40 years, he owned and operated Citrus Veterinary Clinic in La Verne, specializing in surgery. He taught and inspired future veterinarians as a professor at University of La Verne and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Terry was a staunch supporter of animal welfare and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Inland Valley Humane Society and S.P.C.A for nearly four decades.

He also dedicated his time to a variety of other civic and philanthropic organizations, including the La Verne Rotary Club, where he was the director of the International Student Exchange program. Through that, he developed many lifelong friendships. He was also active with Red Cross of Inland Empire.

Terry loved a good round of golf, gourmet cuisine, fine wine, strong gin and tonics and traveling around the world to explore and partake in all of these. Some of his favorite destinations included Ireland, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, North Carolina and Hawaii. He also cherished weekend getaways with his wife, Nedra, in Santa Barbara and San Diego, as well as his annual fishing trip in Canada with his son, Carl, and close friends.

As much as he enjoyed traveling, especially when accompanied by his family, Terry also took great pleasure in comforts closer to home, such as favorite meals at his go-to restaurants. Shiro and Bistro 45 (both in the Pasadena area) and Chicago-style hot dogs were perennial favorites. He enjoyed rewatching the movie Grumpy Old Men and episodes of The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and The Big Bang Theory. He loved opera and symphonic music, particularly LA Philharmonic performances, and was known to sing Christmas carols all year round. He had a particularly soft spot in his heart for dogs. We like to believe he would have been met by his favorite pup, Max, at the Rainbow Bridge.

Terry is survived by his wife, Nedra Vincent; son Carl Lepper and his wife Aimee Canlas of Camarillo, CA; daughter Megan Gastel and her husband Robert of Norco, CA; and daughter Carrie Gribbon and her husband Danny of Upland, CA; as well as three grandchildren: Blakely, George and Landon. He is also survived by his sister Helen Collard and brother Dale Lepper.

A celebration of life for Terry will be held on February 8, 2025, at 11 am at Friends Church Chapel, 5211 Lakeview Avenue, Yorba Linda, CA. Thereafter or in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Terry's name to the Inland Valley Humane Society and S.P.C.A., 500 Humane Way, Pomona, CA 91766 (ivhsspca.org).