Franklin Pepper

1935 - 2025

Franklin Pepper

March 21, 1935 - January 6, 2025

Franklin Jay Pepper, prominent psychiatrist and husband of former Alexandria City Council member and Vice Mayor Del Swigart Pepper, died January 6 at his West End home following a long illness. He was 89.

Known as F.J., Pepper was born March 21, 1935, in Omaha, NE. He was the eldest of four children: brothers, Maurice Jr. and John (predeceased) and a sister, Sara Epstein, born to Dr. Maurice L. Pepper and Ramona Slosburg Pepper.

Pepper attended the University of Nebraska, earning a B.A. in 1954 and M.S. in 1958. He graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, in 1965. He spent more than 60 years as a practicing physician in the Washington DC area following his move to Alexandria in 1968.

Pepper served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Captain, from 1966-68. He was a battalion surgeon in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star-"M", Combat Medical Badge, Air Medal.

F.J was a member of multiple organizations that include The Alexandria and Virginia Democratic Committees. He was also a lifetime member and honoree of the NAACP. F.J could name 28 Masonic bodies of which he was or had been a member. He was formerly the President of the Nebraska University Phi Delta Theta.

Pepper is survived by his wife of 58 years, Del Pepper; son, Murphy Pepper; daughter-in-law, Soo Pepper; and five grandchildren, Katherine (Katie), Judah, Elizabeth, Macsen, and Mary.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, January 26, 2025, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home & Crematory, 1500 W Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22302. A private interment will take place later at the Ivy Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.